


Spellborne

by The Firelight Magus (Crystalliced)



Series: Spellborne [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Action/Adventure, Developing Friendships, Drama, Elemental Magic, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fantasy, Magic, Multi, Ninja Analogues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:20:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 72,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26611312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystalliced/pseuds/The%20Firelight%20Magus
Summary: Ice Aberrants are destined to sink into psychopathy.The only way to avoid that fate is death.Yuki of Alune has pulled himself through life with these tenets in his heart for as long as he can remember, isolating himself to avoid dragging others with him on his inevitable spiral down. When he meets a strange girl, these beliefs are shaken for the first time.Suddenly, his life is filled with many, many more questions, and foremost among them:“What reason should I live for?”
Series: Spellborne [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1682548
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	1. (1.1.1) Convergence, Part 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [[MIGRATING -- SEE LATEST CHAPTER] Spellborne](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23391733) by [The Firelight Magus (Crystalliced)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystalliced/pseuds/The%20Firelight%20Magus). 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back and better than ever!

#  **(1.1.1) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Convergence, Part 1**

The gentle scent of meticulously-cleaned hardwood and bubbling soup filled my nose. The paved stone of my kitchen floor was warm and smooth underneath my bare feet. The simple, relaxed atmosphere lulled me into complacency as I chopped up an onion. As it turned out, though, letting my thoughts drift was a mistake — the onion suddenly slipped away from under my hand. Before I could process the error, my hand darted under the falling blade and was promptly slashed to the bone. 

I grimaced and turned my hand away as blood splattered across the cutting board. It didn’t hurt — wounds like this never did — but I didn’t want to make more of a mess than I already had. To my dismay, the onion I had been cutting was now on the floor. Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to my hand. Despite the deep wound, though, it had already stopped bleeding.

Ice crystals, pale and sharp, glimmered within my flesh. I released the instinctive hold on my power and watched as they surged forward, transforming into new skin. Within moments, my hand was as good as new. 

“What a waste of time,” I muttered to myself, exasperated. It was hardly the first time I’d been injured, but it was the first time I’d done it so carelessly. I’ve taken care of myself for years — really, I should be beyond mistakes like that. 

A few minutes later, I cleaned up the blood and the remnants of my meal, and shortly after, I dressed myself in the white dress shirt and black pants of the male school uniform. As I’d been walking out the door, though, I realized that my waist felt far too light. 

And that’s when I realized that I had forgotten something important. 

“Twice, now?” I retreated back into my house and grabbed my standard-issue sheathed sword from the wall before securing it to my belt. Though I won’t be engaging in blade training at the Academy today, I’ve always made it a point to carry the weapons around with me. You never know when you might need it, after all. Finally ready, I stepped outside and began my walk along the dirt pathways to the South Academy of Alune, about fifteen minutes away. 

My neighborhood is not out of the ordinary, with all of the houses built nearly exactly the same — stone and wooden structures with two bedrooms and one bathroom, mostly undecorated save for the tenant’s preferences. It was rather early in the morning, but the highways were busy as always, Lunari leaping across flat, reinforced rooftops designed for exactly that purpose. I could have joined them, but I wasn’t in any rush. And, more importantly, I was supposed to meet with Sayaka this morning. 

The sound of rushing footsteps behind me caused my hand to shift towards my sheathed blade, but— 

“Good morning, Yuki.” The girl ran up beside me.

“Good morning, Sayaka.” I replied politely. My self-appointed rival had long blue hair down to her back and bright aquamarine eyes. She’s dressed in our school uniform, a simple white blouse and black skirt. 

She’s decently talented and rather intelligent, even if rather nosey at times — there’s certainly far worse people to talk to, so I’ve always made an effort to at least remain on friendly terms with her. Of course, her bizarre insistence on being my rival occasionally made that a little hard.

As for what she challenged me in? Manaweaving — or, to be specific, Windweaving. Of course, I wasn’t just a Windweaver, but being an Ice Aberrant was punishable by death. It’s why I generally suppressed my power as much as possible. 

Sayaka began to talk, “So have you heard...” but I tuned her out in favor of my own thoughts. 

Standard Alunian Manaweaving Theory dictated that one’s natural affinity served as a baseline for their personality. Fireweavers were more passionate, but reckless; Waterweavers would lean towards being more intelligent, but harder to motivate; Windweavers would often be independent, but less responsible; and Earthweavers were generally more resilient, but more stubborn. 

Of course, this was just a general rule of thumb, but it held quite true in my case. After all, I wasn’t a true Manaweaver — instead, I was an Aberrant, someone who possessed a natural affinity beyond the Big Four, the so-called ‘natural elements’. And Ice Aberrants, in particular, were bitterly cold, destined for insanity. Eventually, they — we — all became sociopaths who couldn’t care about anything but their objective, and became completely willing to sacrifice anything and everything. 

In other words, we were a ticking bomb. Unlike the other Aberrants, though, Ice Aberrants would always, without fail, devolve into insanity. And that made us far too much trouble. 

“Hey! Are you just going to ignore me?” Sayaka said, having realized that I hadn’t been paying much attention to her. 

“Sorry.” I apologized insincerely. “Please, continue telling me about how you’re going to beat me in tomorrow’s power-duel despite never having actually bested me.” 

She narrowed her eyes. “You’ve never beaten me, either—”

I couldn’t help but smile slightly.

“—Hey, what’s with that look on your face?”

“You’re currently ranked as the strongest student in not just our class, but our entire year.” I note idly. “The top student of all seventy-five of us. It makes you pretty popular, doesn’t it?”

“Huh? I guess so, but it’s not like I care about the attention. Why are you bringing this up, anyways?”

“Oh, no reason.” 

She frowned, confused, but shook it off as we arrived at the school. It’s a single, massive stone and wood building with four floors and perhaps a hundred total rooms. Surrounding it was a stone wall, and guards on top scanned both inside and out for any suspicious characters. Sayaka and I passed through the gate without fuss after we flashed our Student ID cards. 

Surprisingly, she didn’t seem to be in a talkative mood anymore as we made our way up to the third floor and entered our designated classroom. It’s a plain room filled with twenty small student desks, a larger one for the teacher, and plenty of blackboards. Sunlight streamed through the large windows, providing plenty of natural lighting. It’s there that we met up with the last Windweaver in our class. 

Kaede Suzuki was a petite girl with short blonde hair down to the back of her neck and hazel eyes flecked with gold. Of the three of us, she was both the weakest and the gentlest. I had come to be acquaintances with her over time, since group exercises are usually done with those you share an affinity with. 

The reason I didn’t want to get closer to her, though, was because of the structure of the Academy classes. Only fifty students could graduate this year out of seventy-five, and someone like Kaede, who was both somewhat weak and lacked the mindset to become a proper Lunari, wasn’t likely to make it past the cut. 

Although Sayaka and I were early, the other thirteen students in our class were already here. I sat at my desk — second seat to the left, second row — and began mentally preparing for class. Moments later, our instructor walked into the class, and the quiet conversations surrounding us immediately ceased.

“Good morning, class.”

“Good morning, Instructor.” 

Without hesitation, the nondescript man dived right into his lecture. “By now, you should have a solid understanding of the basic tools available to a proper Lunari, and if you have practiced like you ought to have, plenty of practical experience with them, as well. But there are some tools that see far less use, for one reason or another, and today we shall go over one that you encounter often but perhaps do not think much about: seals. Kaede, what are seals?”

“Um...” She hesitated. “They are the written word, empowered by mana?”

“Really? So I could just write your name and feed it some mana and that would be a seal?”

“N-No, they are—”

“Sayaka?” The instructor cut her off curtly. 

The blunette sent Kaede an apologetic look, but answered quickly. “Seals are a unique empowered language designed to create various effects, though at their core they can only be used to seal or unseal things, as the name implies.”

“Better.” The instructor said approvingly. “The writer of the seal expects the seal to function as it is written. Therefore, the mana imbued in the seal is set into an effect as per that expectation. When it is activated by a user who also understands that the seal will have this certain effect, this effect occurs.”

He paused. "Of course, you can’t use any old word — the power of seals is contained in its history. Hence, it is a language, the same way I speak to you all now and expect you to understand what I am saying. But if I say something you do not understand, then you will not know what I mean. In that manner, should an error be made in the process of using a seal, this ‘communication’ would be disrupted. And the consequences of that, well...” 

The instructor held up a stack of small rectangular sheets. “Now, take out your pencils. I have here a dummy seal for everyone...yes, good, pass them around, keep them face down.” Soon enough, everyone had a copy of the paper. 

“This blueprint is an explosive seal which you should have memorized — do not panic, it is both inert and missing the trigger array, as well as some other things. Now, I want everyone to complete the outline of the seal. On my mark, flip them. You have ten seconds.” He paused. 

“Begin.” 

My pencil flew across the page, sketching quick, smooth lines. I had long since committed the standard explosive seal to heart, so it wasn’t a challenging exercise for me. But...

“Time’s up! Pencils down!” The instructor walked around and skimmed over every seal with a practiced eye. Then, he collected them and returned to his desk, a frown on his face. 

“Six of you made critical errors that would have led to an explosion in your face. Six of you made a mistake of slightly lesser importance, so your explosive seal would have been a dud when you had been relying on it. That’s twelve of you dead, captured, injured, or otherwise humiliated.” As he spoke, blue light flickered around the palm of his hand. 

“This is the result that everyone should have presented to me.” He slapped his hand against the blackboard. When he lifted it, a dimly glowing burn mark was left behind in the shape of the explosive seal. “Three of you gave me this. Three out of fifteen produced a passable explosive seal from a half-completed outline. That is three people who have memorized the explosive seal to the point of being able to ensure that their own equipment will not blow them up. An eighty percent fail rate. I would be disappointed if it wasn’t for the fact that this is the lowest fail rate amongst your peers this year. One of my earlier classes had a one hundred percent fail rate. I hope my point has been made clear.” 

Seals were dangerous. 

“For all their risk, though, they are still useful. But they are terribly limited. All seals must, in some way, regard the sealing or unsealing of things. The seal you’ve just worked with, for example, is the rapid and violent unsealing of energy with explosive force. Now, if there are no questions, we can move on...”

...

The rest of my morning and afternoon passed like this. Afterwards, I walked home by myself, the sun setting by the time I left the Academy. At this time, the foot traffic was rather low, so it was nice and peaceful, save for the occasional sound of clashing blades ringing out from a nearby training ground. As if by magic, the street lamps blinked on all at once, painting the streets and alleyways with a gentle orange glow. The lamps were a construct I’d always admired, the elegant, seal-powered inventions absorbing ambient mana to light themselves. And, to top it off, they’re especially durable and very rarely ever broke down— 

I paused, looking around. Something felt off, and it took me a moment to place just what — one of the alleyways I typically passed by in order to go home was rather dim. Were the lights out?

I sprung up and landed quietly on one of the nearby rooftops. Then I glanced around, looking for the patrol once more, but there was no one nearby. For some reason, a foreboding feeling crept through me. Was this a trap of some kind? A trap to capture me? Had I been found out, perhaps? My whole body froze, senses straining to find something, anything...! 

But there was nothing. Nothing, except a rustling sound from the alleyway. And it’s then that I heard a soft, but masculine whisper.

“If you don’t give me your money, I’ll cut your throat open.” 

My throat went dry as I realized what I’d accidentally stumbled across. Whatever is in there — if they’re a Manaweaver, then they’d almost certainly be the superior of a simple Academy student, as skilled as I might be. And it’d be far more surprising if they weren’t — we’re not in the Outskirts, after all. Entering a situation with poor intel and poorer odds and forcing a confrontation you don’t need to — that’s the thought of a reckless fool, and with my condition, I would have died a long time ago if I was like that. 

But I wasn’t like that. The same Ice Aberration that ensured my descent into insanity let me push away my emotions, to just...think for a moment. And so I thought quickly to myself, parsing through what limited information I had, and I was only able to reach one conclusion. 

I didn't want to die yet.

There were safer ways to help here. I could wait for the patrol, or maybe even proactively find someone. Bringing in a trained Lunari would probably be the wisest decision, that was certain. 

But no one else was here. And in the time it would take me to find someone, the crime would probably already be done. And if my Ice Aberration will eventually lead to my death anyways, I didn't want to die a coward. Not when I might still be able to do some good. 

Worst comes to worse, I could simply let my Ice Aberration run unchecked. At least that way I could take them with me. 

I suppressed a sigh, instead reaching deep into myself. This close, I didn’t dare to try to pull mana from my surroundings — that might alert them. Instead, I accessed the Root within myself, and the mana within me eagerly flickered to life. With a thought, I directed a thin stream of it to my eyes, enhancing my vision in the low light. Then, I slipped as close as I dared to the sound of the voices, and peeked over the side of the roof. 

There was a girl there that looked to be about my age, with shoulder-length black hair and fairly long bangs, delicate features, and a small frame. She was wearing a plain grey shirt and black skirt. It was easy to identify her as a normal civilian — her Aurae, the energy the body of a Manaweaver naturally leaked out — was nonexistent. 

Just what was she doing here? 

“Answer me, girlie. Ten seconds.” 

“No.” She said firmly, the sound barely carrying over to me. 

Luckily, the man who was speaking to her had his back turned to me. He didn’t look like anything special, either, but I could tell he was reasonably fit. On his back rested the sheathed standard-sword that was standard issue to all Alunian Lunari, which would have been sufficient to draw me away if I wasn’t determined to see this through. Thankfully, though, his Aurae wasn’t particularly special. For someone as old as I would place him, considering his much taller frame, that bodes fairly well. Even so, I’m just a Lunari-in-training. I have one shot to do this right, at best.

In a smooth, practiced motion, I silently drew the short sword and— 

Before I could do anything further, he turned around, holding the girl by her collar. Her eyes went wide at the sight of me, but she didn’t have time to react before she was thrown down next to the man. With a pained squeak, she landed on her hands and knees. 

“And what exactly do you think you’re doing?” He asked, his voice slightly manic.

“I’ve alerted the patrol to this location.” I bluffed. “They’re on their way, and if you don’t let her go...”

Unfortunately, my threat didn’t seem to scare him at all. He sneered contemptuously before he drew his own sword, touching it to the back of the girl beneath him. She froze, apparently instinctively understanding just what was pressing against her. 

“Come into the alley or she dies.” 

I think I could get away and make enough noise to survive this, but...

Instead, I dropped down into the alley in front of him. The only way I could help the girl survive this was by making sure he wasn’t paying any attention to her. Then, she could run. 

Grinning viciously, he charged at me, and I hastily sidestepped his lunge. My blade slashed out, aiming to cut him as he passed, but he whirled and blocked the blade with his own. His follow-up strike slipped past my guard and cut into my arm as I backed off hastily, leaving behind a shallow gash.

Though I’ve learned to tune out all but the worst of pain, thanks to my Ice Aberration, my heart still raced in my chest. I did everything perfectly — I pulled him into an attack, took advantage of his overextension, and was still the one to get hit. With that kind of skill and power gap, this fight can’t possibly be winnable. No, my only hope is to Manaweave — but what would be useful here? My Windweaving isn’t at a sufficient level to be used in this kind of combat — it’s mostly good for running away, which is what I thought I’d use it for. Normally, that would be perfect, but if I didn’t stand my ground...my eyes fell to the girl behind him. She’s curled into a ball, facing away from the both of us. 

Then there’s only my other choice. It was that or let her die, and what kind of Lunari would I be if I ran away from this?

So instead, I raced at him, my mana surging through my body. Smirking, he brought his blade forcefully down, intent on disarming me— 

Then Ice ruptured out of my blade and froze the swords together. He flinched, surprised for a critical moment, and it was then that I let go of my sword willingly. Ducking underneath our locked swords, I lunged at his chest, my mana surged once more as a dagger of Ice snapped into my hand, and—

—and then I was repelled by a blast of Wind that sent me flying backwards and onto the ground, the Ice dagger shattered by the force. A moment later, a foot slammed into my stomach and forced the air out from my lungs. I looked up to see his foot keeping me pinned to the floor, his sword apparently discarded as a lost cause.

“Close.” He snarled. “Real close. I’ll admit you took me off guard for a moment. An Ice Aberrant, huh? In that case, I’m doing the village a favor! Heh...” He points his finger down at my head, Wind swirling around the tip of his finger. Desperately, I tried to bucked him off, but I couldn’t get his foot off of me— 

A crack of displaced air rang out — he staggered, losing control of his Wind, and I materialized another dagger of Ice in my hand before stabbing it deeply into his ankle. 

Curiously, he didn’t even scream, but that wasn’t my concern — his weight lifted off of me, and I didn’t waste any time in shoving him off of me before I rolled away and quickly scrambled up to my feet.

But he didn’t react at all. Instead, he fell to the ground, face-first, and that’s when I realized a knife had been thrust with so much force into his back that only the hilt was visible. And the only person who could have done that—

My head snapped to the side, finding the girl from earlier. She flinched at the sudden movement as her eyes snapped from the corpse — the person she’d killed — to me. 

“Was — was that you? How?” I asked, stunned. She’s nowhere near him — she certainly wasn’t in any position to stab him with a knife! 

“Are you...are you going to kill me?” She said nervously as she eyed me warily. 

“What? No. Why would you—”

She knew I was an Ice Aberrant. If she were to tell anyone, then I’d be executed. But it would be so stupid to save her life just to kill her after.

“Well, no, I wasn’t going to.” I reassure her, deciding to let my mana return back to me. The two blades I created faded away into nothingness, and the frozen swords fell away from each other.

“Really?”

I nodded. 

“Oh.” She relaxed, just a little bit. “T-Thank you. For...for not killing me, and for saving my life. And I...I use seals. That’s how I...” She trailed off.

But how did she activate it? Even when I moved closer to her, her Aurae was essentially zero. She couldn’t possibly be a Manaweaver, and even the simplest of seals required a tiny spark. And...did she write that seal on the spot? She had nothing to write with! 

I grimaced. “You saved my life, too.”

“You wouldn’t have needed the help if you had just left me.” She said quietly. It wasn’t something I could immediately refute, and I wouldn’t know how to change her mind on that, anyways. 

“Then, please don’t tell anyone about me.” I requested instead, having decided to leverage her apparent goodwill towards me. 

She bobbed her head eagerly. “I won’t!” Then her eyes trailed to my arm and widened minutely. I didn’t need to look to know that she’s wondering where the slash on my arm had gone. I didn’t mind, though — her action gave me the time to look back at her to properly assess her for myself. 

She’s a small slip of a girl, slim and about a meter and a half tall. She looked almost nothing like your stereotypical Lunari at all — in fact, her features made her look almost like a princess with how gentle they were. Her eyes, though, glittered with intelligence. And she’d killed that man without flinching. The contradiction between her civilian body and Lunari mindset was one that I wasn’t sure how to resolve. 

I stiffened as she walked past me, brushing against me briefly. Contrary to my expectations, though, she kneeled down in front of the body, apparently completely unphased. 

Is she...used to this? But...

The corpse vanished suddenly.

Another seal?!

“Well, that’s taken care of.” She muttered, almost too softly to hear. Then, she turned back to me, a guarded look on her face. “You should have...nothing to worry about now, right?”

I tried not to let my bewilderment show as I retrieved my sword and sheathed it back where it belonged. “I guess so. Will you be able to get home safely?” 

A look of...something...flashed across her face. “I’ll be fine. Thank you for your concern, though.” 

“If you say so. Farewell...ah, I don’t know your name, do I?” 

“Ah. My name is...Setsuna. Setsuna Tsuri.” She looked at me expectantly. There was no real reason for me to answer her truthfully, but I did anyway. 

“Yuki. Just Yuki.” 

She smiled shyly. “It’s nice to meet you, Yuki.” 


	2. (1.1.2) Convergence, Part 2

#  **(1.1.2) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Convergence, Part 2**

I closed the door to my house behind me, lost in thought as I made my way to school.

Seals were a tool for the Lunari, the weapons of the state. That much was a fact I’d been raised with for all my life. You needed to be able to Manaweave simply to spark the seals to life, and you needed to be a Lunari to learn how to Manaweave. 

That girl, Setsuna, she’d violated that law. I’d been next to her, and felt her aurae. She shouldn’t have been able to Manaweave, but yet she had used several different seals. But then again, that wasn’t the only contradiction I’d noticed with her, was it? She had the mindset of a Lunari — cold, relentless utilitarianism — but the feel of a civilian. 

It felt rather pointless to think so hard about someone I would never see again, but I couldn’t help myself — she was just so very interesting. Still, though, it was for the best that I didn’t see her ever again. Instead, I should be putting thought into how my life has changed as a result of my actions. Or, rather, how it should have.

Yesterday, I watched a man die, and I felt absolutely nothing. Intellectually, of course, I knew that he deserved to die. But that’s different from doing the deed myself—

No, wait, it was Setsuna who’d killed him, wasn’t it? I wasn’t far behind, but the one who actually struck the killing blow...? 

Yet another contradiction. If a normal human, even by Lunari standards, would have been repulsed or at least affected by the kill, then what did that make Setsuna? 

“Yuki!” a familiar voice called out from behind me. Before I could respond, Sayaka pulled up next to my side, looking slightly winded. “Did you hear?! Chikako got cut out of class!” 

Huh. Students were only cut out midway through the school year as a disciplinary action, but the ordinary girl that sat directly to my left didn’t strike me as the type to be troublesome. Then again, I didn’t pay much attention to her — she simply wasn’t noteworthy.

I blinked. “How did you find out about this?”

“Kaede heard from Mayuri who heard from her,” she said brightly. “Apparently, it happened last night. She got a memo from the Department of Education that she was being replaced, since we were getting a new student and she was the lowest in the class rankings.”

“A replacement student?” I mused. That was a bit out of the ordinary. 

She grinned. “Yep! I wonder what they’ll be like.” 

I paused as a thought occurred to me. 

“Yuki?”

Don’t tell me— 

...

“Pleased to meet you, everyone,” a familiar, black-haired girl said, performing the customary bow. “My name is Setsuna Tsuri.” 

As she talked, she glanced directly at me, eyes widening just a fraction. It was evident that she remembered me from the evening before. And naturally, when she was directed to take a seat, she made a beeline for the new empty seat to my left. 

What horrid luck. What were the odds that this particular girl—? On the other hand, though, this was my chance to get answers to quite a few of the questions I’d had. I deliberately scratched one of my nails gently across the surface of my desk. She glanced at me, the sound having briefly caught her attention.

“Why?” I mouthed at her. 

“Rooftop at lunch,” she whispered back, almost too quietly to hear. 

I nodded, then allowed myself to focus on what our instructor was saying. Soon enough, though, I was distracted by my subtle observations of the replacement student. She appeared to be an excruciatingly meticulous student, taking notes without pause— 

But wait, I never saw her with a bag, yet she was writing in a notebook with her bag at her feet. Where did her supplies come from?

That got my attention enough for me to look into it further. When I glanced over, though, I realized that she was just...drawing? I had no idea what the strange, intricate scribbles could be, so I narrowed my eyes and enhanced my vision with my mana once more...

Those...those were seals! 

She glanced at me sharply. Since she’d caught me, I met her gaze head-on instead of trying to hide my curiosity. But that only raised another question — just how did she catch me? I’d used only the thinnest stream of mana. If the teacher didn’t notice, she certainly shouldn’t have. 

After a moment of pause, she apparently decided to dismiss my staring, going back to her previous task. It didn’t matter if she didn’t hide it, though, as I couldn’t read it anyways. 

“Setsuna, care to answer the question?” our teacher called out.

“The four natural mana affinities are Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind. Affinities that don’t fall into this category are considered aberrations. Aberrations are usually stronger or more versatile than the primary elements, but also somewhat rarer and have associated negative effects. They are all granted at birth,” she recited tonelessly. 

“Excellent! Now, as you should already know, one can develop multiple affinities through hard work and training, but of course...” 

Yet another contradiction — Setsuna kept writing even as she processed and answered the question perfectly. And it wasn’t normal writing, either — those are seals, which were far more complex and demanding than the standard alphabet. She must be a seal specialist, which would be just about the only way she could do something like that. 

Too many questions, far too many questions. I needed to find out more about her — especially since it seems that her presence in my life wouldn’t be as short-lived as I had thought. 

“Yuki, if you could answer the question?” 

“Although primary affinities tend to guide a person’s personality, there are plenty of examples that prove that individuals can grow outside of them — trauma being one of the most common factors. But, as a general rule of thumb, one’s affinities tend to shape the way a person is,” I answered.

“A very detailed answer,” the teacher replied approvingly. “Setsuna, can you name some of the issues that can be caused as a result of this influence?” 

She very carefully didn’t look at me. “Ice Aberrants tend to be cold and eventually become sociopathic. As a result, known Iceweavers are executed on sight. Lightning Aberrants tend to be more chaotic, impulsive, and prideful, and are thus monitored closely to ensure that they maintain control over their emotions and powers, as are most Aberrants.”

“Very good! Since you mentioned Lightning, let’s talk about some of the different ways it differs from the natural affinities…” 

Setsuna continued to draw her seals in her book all the way until the end of class. 

...

The next class was Mana Manipulation — in other words, where we put into practice the lessons we’ve learnt in mana theory. We moved out to one of the fields surrounding the Academy, and that’s when things started slipping downhill. 

“Ah, you,” our instructor pointed at Setsuna, “I understand you have some special conditions, correct?” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Very well. You can come over here — I have a different assignment for you.” 

“Understood, sir.” She followed his instructions obediently, face completely blank.

“The rest of you, form your usual groups. As you were told yesterday, we will be doing some power dueling.”

These particular examinations were a very interesting way to measure power. Power, in this sense, was essentially how much mana you could effectively use at once. 

Many factors influenced power. Connection to one’s affinity, overall skill, more precise mana control, age, experience...the list went on and on. It could be considered a mixture of born talent and skill, but even talented individuals can be overwhelmed by someone who works really hard and efficiently. 

And, of course, power didn’t decide every battle, or even most of them. However, the one with more power usually set the pace and tone of every fight, and being able to gauge both your own power level as well as that of your opponent’s was essential.

“That new girl is interesting, isn’t she?” Sayaka whispered to Kaede as the two took their stances. 

“Yeah! I wonder what affinity she has?” 

“Maybe she’s an Aberrant?”

“Who knows? She doesn’t really seem the type, though…” The pair stared at Setsuna, who was busy talking to the instructor.

“Or…” Sayaka trailed off, “Maybe she’s signing up for a different kind of instruction altogether?” 

“You don’t mean—“ Kaede whispered, looking scandalized.

I tuned them out, not wanting to be part of that conversation, but as I drifted away, I noticed Setsuna staring at the pair with an unreadable expression. 

“This time I’ll beat you, Sayaka!” Kaede grinned as she walked away to take her place. The former flipped her hair, a smirk pasted onto her face— 

“You can try!”

At this level, Windweaver power dueling consisted of the two duelists standing a few meters apart from each other before trying to blow the other person off their feet with nothing more than Wind generated directly from their mana. It’s simple and straightforward, which made it an ideal test. 

The two took their places five meters away from each other on the weighted mat designed specifically for that purpose, which left me to officiate. 

“Ready?” I asked them. They nodded determinedly, then aimed their hands towards each other as they took the standard Windweaving power-duel stance, one foot well behind the other, knees bent slightly, back foot angled sideways.

“Begin!” 

With a playful grin on her face, Sayaka launched a pulse of Wind that Kaede barely managed to withstand, her own weaker efforts just negating the attack. A second pulse nearly sent her off her balance, but then she went on the counterattack and released a pulse of her own. Flinching, the blunette blocked, seemingly caught off-guard for a pivotal moment, but her eyes told me the truth.

She hadn’t been taking this seriously from the very start. 

Sayaka’s third pulse of Wind knocked Kaede onto her rear and neatly ended the power duel. 

“Winner, Sayaka,” I said belatedly. The results were predictable. Kaede wasn’t untalented, but she didn’t have the mindset necessary to grow stronger, and didn’t put enough practice in. Sayaka, meanwhile, was officially ranked as the strongest person in our class. 

As Kaede stood up, I moved to take her place against Sayaka, though I made sure to double the distance between us. Since I was stronger than the blonde, the extra safety margin was necessary. In order to win the power duel, we’d both need to put out more power to cover the gap between us. She never hesitated to throw her full force against me, but I’d never tried to do more than match it. 

Simply put, I didn’t want to be on top of the class, so I’d only ever done enough to bring us to a comfortable draw. Second, third, my ranking didn’t really matter to me, so long as I wasn’t on top. The attention made me uncomfortable, and not even for reasons related to my Aberration. 

But...I glanced at Setsuna. She was still staring at the two girls, face inscrutable. 

It was a bit of a gamble, by my estimation, but the rewards were worth it. I needed to develop a better relationship with Setsuna to ensure that she continues feeling indebted to me. 

Slowly, I settled into my stance, my arms limp at my side. Sayaka studied me curiously, seeming to sense that something had changed. 

“Hey, Sayaka?” I said softly.

“Yeah?”

“Take this seriously.” 

She narrowed her eyes, clearly weighing me up. 

“Ready?” Kaede asked nervously. She seemed to have picked up on the intense atmosphere. 

“Yes,” Sayaka said seriously, the humor having faded from her face. I gave my confirmation a moment later.

“Then—” 

I closed my eyes, quelled my mind, then drew my first breath. 

There were four steps to true Manaweaving. The first, Breathe, was to draw the mana in the air into one’s self. A great deal of Wind had just been hurled through the space I’m occupying, so it was even easier than usual. 

Next, I needed to filter it through my Root. Normally, the Root was a well, so to speak, that a Manaweaver could draw from in order to fuel their techniques. In this case, though, I wasn’t planning on tapping on much of my own power yet — instead, I seized the energy that had already been surrounding me, the mana already charged with Wind, and drew it through my Root to color it with my own mana. 

That little trick was something only an experienced combatant would know...or, in my case, someone willing to spend much of their free time reading in the library. 

“Go!” 

My eyes snapped open. 

The third step was the Flow, the process of the mana surging through your body and out your nerves. No invocation was necessary for it, nor any movement. But my body moved anyways, my foot rising off the ground, and for a moment I held myself up on the other as my arms snapped into motion— 

And then my foot came down. 

Certainly, no motion was necessary for the Flow...but that doesn’t mean that it couldn’t help at all. At that moment, the intent of my action and the movement of my body were one, making my Manaweave a little sharper, a little more condensed, which led to the final step.

As Sayaka launched a ferocious attack, Wind rippled out from me. Not much, just enough to make the mana in the air a bit more friendly to my own. The ripple didn’t even slow down her own attack, but that was fine. That wasn’t the goal. 

Breathe, Root, Flow...Spark! 

I thrusted my hands into the oncoming pulse of Wind and shattered it, a thunderous sound being released from the impact. With her attack dispelled, I launched a powerful, twisting pulse of Wind right back. Sayaka’s eyes went wide, but all she could manage was a hasty block before the blast of turbulent wind slammed into her guard and sent her tumbling onto the ground. 

Absolute silence ensued. I belatedly realized that everyone had stopped what they were doing in order to watch — or perhaps they’d been alerted by the sheer amount of mana and noise being hurled around. Either way, I’ve made my point, but now I have another responsibility. Sayaka wasn’t an enemy I wanted to destroy. 

No, now she’s just my defeated rival, and it was that thought that led me towards her, rather than away. She seemed to be in a state of shock, unmoving from her prone position on the ground as I stood over her. 

“Setsuna is my friend,” I said bluntly to her. “Don’t make fun of her.” 

Sayaka stared up at me, mixed emotion in her eyes — then she blinked, surprised, as I offered my hand to her. 

I could tell that she wanted to slap my hand away, but she knew she’d lose even more face if she did that. It was better to be a gracious loser than a sore one. So it was only begrudgingly that she took my hand and allowed me to pull her to her feet. 

“Congratulations,” she muttered. It was a little bitter, but the smile she flashed me felt almost genuine, at least. 

I nodded. “You too.” 

Someone started to slowly clap. Surprised, I turned over my shoulder to look — it was our instructor. Everyone else followed his cue, and soon we were both surrounded by applause. I glanced at Setsuna — she was clapping, too, but there was something off about her expression. I wasn’t able to figure out what, though, and when she noticed my gaze, she reverted back to normal. 

The clapping died down moments later as our teacher cleared his throat. 

“It seems like this was a very productive lesson after all,” he said. “Hiding your true strength to reveal it at an optimal moment. Mastery of the fundamentals of Manaweaving. Understanding the value of friendship and protecting your comrades.” His gaze locked on me before he looked at Sayaka. “Learning when it is and isn’t appropriate to speak your mind, and being a gracious winner and loser. These are all valuable lessons to learn, and I sincerely hope that every single one of you has taken away something from this today.” 

“Everyone is dismissed from this lesson. I want you to reflect on what you’ve seen today and begin considering your own actions based on some of what you’ve learned. I expect all of you to begin applying these lessons to yourself. Be sure to arrive at your next class on time. Dismissed.” 

Sayaka walked away, looking lost in thought. Kaede trailed after her, seeming a bit worried about her friend. For a moment, I considered following her, but then I remembered the reason why I’d orchestrated this entire sequence of events. Setsuna, however, was nowhere to be found. I was a little disappointed until I remembered what she’d told me earlier. The rooftop, if I’m not mistaken...? Well, I should be able to grab lunch from the cafeteria first.

… 

The rooftop was flat and empty save for the stairwell exit, with not even a guardrail over the edges. I wasn’t even sure if I was supposed to be up here, but Setsuna didn’t seem to care. When I arrived, I found the black-haired girl faced away from the entrance, apparently enthralled by the view of the noon sky. 

“Setsuna,” I greeted her. “Were you the one who put a seal on the doors up to the rooftop?”

I hadn’t been able to figure out just what it was, though.

She nodded, then turned to face me. Her face was still unreadable. “I wanted to talk to you alone.” 

She patted the ground next to her, and immediately, two seals flared up from which two simple wooden chairs were ejected. Without hesitation, she took a seat and gestured for me to take the other one. I sat down without bothering to check it — she had my life in her hands, after all. If she wanted to kill or hurt me, she didn’t need to do anything that roundabout — she could just report me. 

That’s why I needed information about her. I needed to know what she wanted, why she was here...and how to ensure that she kept my secret. 

“So just what did you want to talk about?” I probed her. 

She swallowed. “Before I talk about what I’m here for, I wanted to thank you, Yuki.” 

I resisted the urge to smile and kept my face carefully blank instead. 

“You wanted to thank me? You already have, haven’t you?”

She shook her head. “I could hear what that girl was saying. You stood up for me.” 

“I did?” 

Setsuna glanced at me. “I transfer in. A girl starts talking about me behind my back. You break what was apparently a consistent streak of draws and beat her soundly. It’s pretty obvious. So....thank you,” she said, as a genuine smile blossomed onto her face. 

“No problem.” I replied, a little caught off-guard by how sincere she seemed to be. She studied me curiously.

“You’re really not what I expected you to be at all,” she said softly. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Your aberration. I expected you to be a lot colder. I expected you to kill me, maybe. But instead, you’ve been protecting me this whole time. You saved my life once, and spared it, too. Now in school, you’re looking out for me and making sure people aren’t spreading rumors about me.”

I tilted my head. “If you were so scared, why did you come to this school, then?” I asked.

“Because,” she swallowed heavily and looked down, “because I wanted to feel the kindness that would lead someone to save someone like me. I wanted to see, were you just — was it just by chance?” 

I suppressed a flinch. I’d been looking for something more sinister hiding underneath her surface. But I hadn’t considered — I hadn’t thought— 

Even I understood intuitively that there was something terribly, terribly wrong with her attitude. That, for some reason, some part of her thought that she wasn’t worth saving. Even to me, I knew that wasn’t right.

I mentally shifted my perception of her from ‘potential threat’ to ‘potential ally’. 

“I don’t regret saving you,” I admitted frankly. 

She blinked, stunned. “Even though you revealed your secret?” 

“I wouldn’t have let you die for that,” I replied flatly.

I would have to die at some point before I fell into insanity. That was an irrefutable fact of life. It would be a waste to kill someone who didn’t deserve it to protect myself when I’d have to die eventually anyways. 

“Ah.” She flushed slightly. A small, shy smile flitted across her face. “So are we…are we really friends, then? You said…”

I stared at her. 

“I don’t want you to feel as though I’m protecting you for the sake of my secret,” I said bluntly, even though that’s exactly what I was doing. “So—” 

“I know!” she blurted out. “I know you aren’t like that. Or you wouldn’t have...you would have just run away. In the alley.”

I winced at the thought. 

“I know that you are — you’re willing to risk your life for me.” She smiled again. “Friendship is the least I can offer you. If...if you want.” 

I thought about it for a moment, but she was right. And, besides, I hadn’t ever had a friend before. This could be...interesting.

“Then, I accept. We’ll be friends.” I stuck my hand out to her. She smiled, then put her hand in mine. 

We shook. 

  
  



	3. (1.1.3) Convergence, Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! Sorry for the long wait! I have spent the last month or so substantially revising a lot, a *lot* about this story and especially this first Act. You'll notice the changes immediately. 
> 
> For all my older readers, I'd suggest starting from Chapter 1 and reading back to this point. The changes are that significant, and you're going to be lost if you don't. 
> 
> I'm now much more confident in both this arc and this story, and hope that you guys enjoy it!

#  **(1.1.3) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Convergence, Part 3**

Over the lunch period, Setsuna cleared up something I’d been wondering about her. 

She wasn’t a true Lunari. I’d suspected that much from the very start, but she confirmed to me that her Manaweaving potential was so low that she could never be a proper Lunari, not at her age. 

Manaweaver potential was dictated by one’s talent with the four stages of Manaweaving — Breathe, Root, Flow, Spark. A deficiency in one would make it much harder to use the entire system. Setsuna, though, has not one but two weaknesses — her ability to draw in the surrounding mana was near zero, and her ability to store it wasn’t much better. It didn’t matter how well she could perform the other two stages if her ability to actually gather any mana was so low that it may as well have been zero. 

Setsuna devoured books in the library and hunted for something that might help her. Eventually, she’d found it — seals. With her raw determination and skill, she painstakingly learned how to draw power from the mana-charged lamps to spark her own seals to life, used them to sneak into the South Library and steal books on seals— 

At my disbelieving look, she’d clarified — the librarians had been perfectly aware of her, despite her best attempts at stealth, but had been amused by her and taken a guiding role in her life instead of reporting her. 

Eventually, she had been bold enough to cut seals directly into her skin. That array, though, had solved her problems with her Root, allowing her to draw and store a tiny amount of mana directly into the seals, and in turn allowing her to channel that mana through her body. It wasn’t enough, certainly not enough for any substantial Manaweaving, but it was enough to spark her seals to life, and that’s all she needed. 

The rest was history. Setsuna had studied the basics of Manaweaving, then begun the process to transfer into the Academy with the help of her librarian mentors. It had been sheer coincidence that I’d encountered her in the alleyway, but it had only reassured her that she had made the right decision in trying to become a Lunari.

With a deeper insight into her mind, and our newfound friendship, I’d felt much more comfortable around the sealer by the time we began walking down from the rooftop. Our afternoon physical training was in the fields outside of the school building, in the same place where we had done our power duels. 

Our classmates trickled in from various places around the school a few minutes before the start of class. The instructor came in right on the dot, and gave us a simple instruction. 

“Close-combat practice today, everyone. Find a partner.”

I started to turn to Setsuna, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw two familiar people making their way down towards Setsuna and I. 

“Sayaka. Kaede,” I acknowledged as they grew closer. 

“Yuki,” the former replied evenly, apparently unwilling to meet Setsuna’s gaze. “Do you think we could talk in private for a moment?” 

“Alright,” I said cautiously. 

We drifted away from the other students, leaving Kaede with Setsuna. Soon enough, we were...well, not quite alone, but close enough to where we could talk with some degree of privacy in our own section of the field. 

“So?” I asked. “What do you want?” 

“I want to fight you.” Her words were straightforward, simple, and delivered without a hint of malice. 

“Is this because—” I started, but she shook her head. 

“Whatever you’re thinking, no. I want to fight you for my own reasons.” She glanced down quickly, then locked her eyes on mine again. “Please.” 

If anything, it seemed like she was genuine, at least. Sayaka specialized in a soft-touch style that revolved mostly around deflection rather than blocking. My own style was the opposite, a more straightforward style that relied on strength and brute force. 

That, though, relied on Mana Reinforcement, the usage of mana to strengthen the body. And we’re not allowed to use it in this class, so Sayaka’s style has a significant advantage. But that only matters if I need to win, and giving Sayaka a chance to defeat me will help reestablish the status quo I’d disrupted earlier. 

All of that was very true, but in truth, Sayaka was acting strangely enough for me to want to rectify it. For better or worse, I’d known her for quite a few years now, and I didn’t think I’d ever heard her say ‘please’. Whatever her reasons, this was really important to her. So I nodded, then slid into a ready stance. It was all the answer she needed, as she wordlessly did the same with a small grin on her face. 

“Ready?” I prompted. 

“Ready.”

“Go!”

Sayaka raced to close the distance, covering the small gap between us in a second. I raised my arm and deflected her first strike, seeking to take advantage of her charge to aim for her side. Having already anticipated my action, she smoothly rotated out of range and went for a leg sweep.

I jumped upwards, aiming to stomp on her extended leg on the way down, but she performed a strange flip that caught my descending foot and kicked upwards, sending me off balance. I managed to catch myself on my hands and flipped to regain my balance as she came in again. We traded a series of punches and kicks before I detected an opening and lunged inside her guard.

In the same instant, she nimbly slid out, having anticipated my reaction, and launched a spinning kick that I just barely managed to guard. The kick put me off balance, though, and her follow-up tackle forced me to the ground. 

I blocked a vicious punch to the head that would have probably knocked me out entirely, and responded with an unorthodox headbutt that disoriented her long enough for me to shove her off entirely. Despite that, she still managed to catch me in the face with a blind kick and knocked me back to the ground. 

We both quickly scrambled back up to our feet and charged at each other again. But despite all my efforts, I wasn’t able to pin her down. Eventually she capitalized on a mistake of my own and slipped under my guard before punching me hard in the stomach and robbing me of air. 

She followed up with an uppercut that made me see stars, but it was at an awkward angle for her — she wasn’t able to put her full force behind the hit, so it didn’t quite knock me out. Even so, it didn’t matter — her followup kick smacked me down. 

“I give,” I muttered, voice muffled by the dirt. I could keep fighting, but it was pretty clear that I wouldn’t get anywhere against her. 

“Aww. Good fight,” Sayaka said, sounding mildly disappointed that it was over. “Here, I’ll help you up.” 

In a mirror of the events a few hours ago, I grabbed her hand and she pulled me up, a satisfied smile on her face.

“Want to go again?” she offered.

“I think I’ll pass,” I replied, then smirked. “Unless you open the rules to allow mana reinforcement.”

She made a face. “No thanks. Either way, we’re even now,” she said as she wiped her hands off on her dress. 

“I suppose so,” I replied, bemused. Was that what this was all about? As I was about to turn back to Setsuna and the rest of the class, though, she stopped me with a hand on my arm. 

“Hey, Yuki?” 

“Hm?”

“How...how long have you been holding back?” 

I paused, considering what to say next. “Honestly? Just a few months. And only in our power duels.” 

She relaxed, letting her arms fall to her side. “Alright, that’s...that’s good, I guess.”

I stared at her curiously. “You’re seriously concerned about this, aren’t you?” 

“Of course I am!” She said heatedly. “I thought we were even. But when you beat me like that...it felt like you weren’t even trying. Do you know how demoralizing that was? I work really hard to stay on top, and you just—!” 

She paused, clearly recollecting herself. “But...then I realized that maybe it wasn’t how hard I was training. Maybe it was what I was...Yuki, do you know why you want to be a Lunari?”

I shook my head. I knew perfectly well what I was doing all of this for, but it wasn’t something I was willing to communicate to her. 

Undeterred, she kept going. “I realized that, well...I didn’t know, either. Instead of focusing on my work and improving myself, I’d let myself grow complacent. Arrogant, even. Needlessly mean, sometimes. I lost track of what I was working so hard for, and now I don’t even know what it is I really want. Isn’t that dumb? If I go out into the real world like that, I’m going to die.”

“If you don’t know why you want to be a Lunari, why haven’t you quit?” I asked, stone-faced. 

“And do what? There isn’t much else worth doing out there, and I don’t want to become a civilian,” she said. “That’s just not my style.” 

“You can always change your mind on that — so long as you’re alive.” I advised. 

“I know. But that’s why I want to be stronger,” she agreed. “I’m going to be strong enough so that I can win against everyone I have to fight while I make my choice.”

I studied her for a moment, then smiled. “You can settle for second.” I couldn’t help but think that Sayaka was actually a good person, in her own weird way. 

She laughed. “We’ll see. See you later, Yuki,” she said, then headed back to the rest of our classmates. First, though, she briefly stopped by Setsuna, who was helping Kaede up after having knocked her down in what seems to have been their own spar. I wasn’t sure what Sayaka said to my friend, but the sealer didn’t seem bothered and the blunette seemed...apologetic? 

By the time I got back to Setsuna, the two had departed back to their own corner of the field. 

“Did you have something to do with that?” Setsuna asked me without any preamble. 

“With...?”

“Sayaka. She just apologized to me.”

“Ah. Not really. I just beat her up.”

“Oh.” The black-haired girl stared thoughtfully at where Sayaka and Kaede were sparring. “I see.” 

I wasn’t sure exactly what it was she saw, but I was more interested in something else. “You beat Kaede?”

“Yeah. Is that surprising?”

Setsuna didn’t have mana permeating her body the same way a natural user did, which strengthened their bodies over time. Even a Manaweaver on the weaker end of the scale, like Kaede, shouldn’t have had an issue. 

“Well...yes.” 

She smiled. A shiver ran down my spine. “Maybe you’d like to test it out for yourself?”

“Alright,” I agreed.

...

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully. As the last class ended, Setsuna made her way to my side. If the slower way she moved was of any indication, the events of the day had tired her out a bit. 

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I should be asking you that,” Setsuna said cheerfully, meaningfully tapping her cheek. 

I scowled. “I’ll remind you that you won one of eight rounds.” 

Setsuna turned out to be surprisingly skilled. She used a style similar to Sayaka’s, a deflective defensive style, though she wasn’t as fast, strong, or skilled as the blue-haired girl. Still, she’d managed to take advantage of a misstep I’d made in order to slam her fist across my face. 

She smiled, but left it at that. “Well, I’m going to head back, now.”

“Back where?”

She blinked, as if surprised. “Huh? Oh...home.” 

“Alright,” I almost left it at that, but I still had more questions I wanted to ask her. “Want me to walk you there? You’d have to show me where you live, though...” I trailed off. 

From the way she talked earlier about the librarians, the way she has conspicuously avoided mentioning any parents, and her most recent reaction, I suspected that she was probably an orphan. 

“Oh! If you don’t mind...?”

“I don’t.” 

“Then, yes.” She fidgeted. “Apparently I’m moving in with someone, since my, ah...original residence was a bit far.” Setsuna all but confirmed my suspicions. “I can take care of myself, but...”

I understood. “Sure. Do you know your address?”

“Um, the street is…” She told me the name.

“Is that so?” I asked, surprised. “We’re going to be neighbors, then.” 

“Really?” Setsuna said, looking happy. “That’s good. I’ll come over and we can train together…um, if that’s okay with you?” 

I nodded. “That’s fine. Let’s head out then, shall we?” 

We exited the room together and quickly split off from the other students. Soon enough, we were walking down the roads back to my home. 

As we walked, I studied her curiously, unsure of how to start talking to her. Even though some of her mysteries have been dispelled, there’s still so much more I want to know. But where should I even begin? 

“Setsuna, could I ask you a question?”

“Hm?”

“Why do you want to become a Lunari?” 

Almost imperceptibly, her footsteps slowed. She covered it well, but it was just enough for me to notice, since I’d been looking for it. 

“That’s quite the personal question, isn’t it?” she said slowly. “It’s...kind of dumb, actually...” 

I shrugged. “If you don’t feel comfortable explaining, I won’t pry any more. I just want to understand you a little more.”

We walked in silence as she digested my words.

“I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours,” she said eventually. 

“Deal,” I agreed without hesitation.

“I want to go to...a certain place,” she said haltingly, as if expecting me to laugh. I didn’t. “Because...that much I’m less willing to talk about. But I...” She bit her lip. “I’ve spent a lot of my life feeling helpless, and I don’t want to feel that way anymore.” 

I nodded. “I see.” 

“What about you?” 

“Nothing that interesting, I assure you. I would just like to bring some good to this world before I die.” 

She looked surprised. “That’s...rather heroic of you.” 

“Oh? Have I surprised you again?” I said, intentionally lightly. She flushed. “It’s because of that, actually. I want to put enough good into the world to offset whatever harm I might cause. That way, my birth won’t have been a complete mistake.” 

“I get that,” she said, so softly that I could barely hear her. She stared at the ground in front of her, one step after the other. I wasn’t sure what to say to that. Instead of trying to extend the conversation, I thought about her words. 

Setsuna’s dream was ridiculously broad, but it told me a lot, too. Her ideals were tied to that feeling of weakness, and the reason she worked so hard was to triumph over it. I couldn’t imagine life without my abilities, so I don’t think I’ll ever be able to really understand what Setsuna feels, but perhaps my own experiences with the weight of my Aberration over my head are not so dissimilar. Because in truth, I was helpless after all, no matter what I told myself. I couldn’t resist the weight of my own inevitable fate, nor the faster, cleaner death should I accidentally reveal my true affinity. Not as I was.

But yet, this girl was struggling to break past her limitations. As someone who wasn’t naturally inclined to become a Manaweaver, it should have been impossible for her to reach the level of talent that she has. It should have been, but here she was anyways. 

We walked past the alleyway where I met her for the first time without comment. I couldn’t help but think that it was worth the risk to my life after all, to save someone like her. She’ll be able to do so much for Alune, and I...

No...it wasn’t quite saving, was it? I helped, without a doubt, but I couldn’t help but remember the way that the girl walking next to me had ruthlessly launched a blade into her attacker’s back. Perhaps she could have handled herself just fine without me. Still, though, I didn’t feel any regret. The path that I chose led me to meet Setsuna. As complicated as my life has become, I still didn’t mind it. 

Soon enough, we arrived at my home. Something at my mailbox caught my interest — it seemed like I had received some mail. Hopefully it wasn’t too urgent. 

“Hm…right, my monthly cheque...”

Every month, all students enrolled in the Academy received a cheque. The amount varied based on their living situation — mine was enough to pay for my various expenses and housing with relative ease.

“The Department of Housing?” I picked up a letter and opened it with a frown. 

The Department of Housing was a subsection of the government that regulated housing, building laws, and all of that sort of thing. I’d never had a problem with them because I didn’t care what my house looks like. Keeping it functional was my only concern, and since the people in the Department were often retired Lunari, that was one place our interests align. So what’s up with…this…?

“I’m going to have a housemate?” I read, bewildered. “Due to unforeseen circumstances? And it’s...!” I turned sharply. 

“Oh.” Setsuna said. “I guess this is the house I’m supposed to come to.”

  
  



	4. (1.1.4) Convergence, Part 4

#  **(1.1.4) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Convergence, Part 4**

“You’re my new roommate?” I asked, stunned.

In response, Setsuna unsealed an official-looking letter, handing it to me. I skimmed it quickly — in essence, she had been ordered to live here. It matched up with the letter I received telling me about her coming in, though it gave nothing more than a name and a brief physical description.

It made sense, I supposed. I had a two-bedroom house, and it was a waste of living space for me to live alone. Still, though, I wasn’t sure how to feel about it. The letter had been dated as of yesterday, so it probably was just a coincidence, but... 

“If it’s...if it’s not okay with you, then maybe I can...” Setsuna began haltingly. 

“No, it’s...it’s fine.” I shook my head, dismissing the strange feelings I had. “Besides, where would you even go? You’ve been ordered here, haven’t you? None of us really have a choice.” 

“Sorry...I don’t mean to be an inconvenience...” 

“It’s not your fault.” I shrugged. “And besides, there’s worse options. I’m not upset about it.” 

Setsuna managed a small smile, though concern still etched itself across her face. “I’ll be sure to pull my weight!” 

“I’m sure you will,” I agreed, unlocking the door with my key. “Well, would you like me to show you around my — our home?” 

Her cheeks flushed with warmth. “Yes!” 

“Come inside, then.” 

As if worried I might change my mind, Setsuna quickly slipped past me and into our house proper. I followed in and closed the door behind me, then reached out to the side and pulsed a bit of mana into the seal array hidden on the wall. With my signal, the lights turned on. 

“Woah,” Setsuna glanced back at me, and at the lights control panel. I only understood how to use it — I’m sure that, given some time, she could probably reconstruct it from scratch if she so desired. But her reaction was interesting. If even something as simple as a personal lighting system was new to her, then... 

“You can play with it later,” I told her as she began drifting towards it, correctly guessing her intentions. She flushed, guilty. “Well, over here is the kitchen and living room. ” 

The kitchen was a simple and neat space. Its smooth stone floors and wooden furniture and countertops gave it a homely aura.

“I don’t actually know how to cook,” she admitted, tentatively stepping in with me into the kitchen. 

“That’s fine. I’ve been cooking for as long as I can remember. I can keep us both alive, and the food should taste fine.” 

“But...” she frowned. “Okay, but could I help with doing the dishes?” 

I hummed. “Do you have enough capacity in your seals to run the faucet?” 

The sink, and much of the plumbing in general, relied on mana conversion to liquid water with a massively complicated array. All I had to do to actually use it, though, was to input mana into the proper seal. 

She bit her lip. “Let me see.” Reaching out, she placed her hand on the faucet seals and closed her eyes. “Yeah, I can run this for a while.” 

I nodded. “Great. Well, that’s the kitchen. Here’s the living room.” 

The living room and kitchen areas were connected, so we didn’t have to walk very far to move over. It was little more than a pair of simple wooden chairs, a short square table, and a larger, similarly plain couch.

“Okay, now if you come down this hallway...”

Near the entrance to the hallway was the bathroom and the storage room. I briefly opened the door to the storage room. There wasn’t too much in there — basic supplies, mostly.

“Doors lock on the inside and the outside...see this bolt here? Oh, but the inside lock is broken for this room. You can put your things in here, if you like, though try not to make a mess. What else...right, let me show you how the bathroom works.” 

I opened the door into the bathroom. 

“You see the arrays, right? Channel mana into these briefly and you’ll get the effect you want. You can run these too, right?”

She nodded as she looked around. “Yeah, if they’re similar to the school’s facilities.” 

“You shouldn’t have any issues, then, so let’s move on. Now, there’s actually two bedrooms. This one here, though, is empty.” I opened the rightmost door to show her. Besides some basic furniture, the room was bereft of anything else. It didn’t even have a bed. “You can use it to put your things in for now, I guess. And across the hallway is mine. Come on in.” 

My bedroom was almost as plain and simple as the other rooms in the household. A wooden desk stood against the wall on one end, with my bed covering the other and large enough to fit at least two people. There was a drawer that contained all of my clothing, and a few neatly ordered possessions on top. 

Setsuna drifted towards one such belonging. “What is this?” 

She was looking at a snow globe, delicate clay figurines inside captured in the act of ice-skating. White powder designed to loosely resemble snow coated the floor of the globe, with a glass dome covering the whole thing so that nothing fell out. These things were fairly common as souvenirs and trinkets, but this one in particular was important to me. 

“...Just a personal belonging.” I said after a pause. 

“Ah,” she murmured. “I…I meant more along the lines of… what is it?”

I blinked. “You’ve never seen a snow globe before?” 

“No.”

“Well, they’re mostly for decoration. You can also do this with them.” I picked up the trinket and shook it up and down before presenting it to her.

“Oh…!” The ‘snow’ slowly fell down from the top. “It’s…pretty.” 

“Play with it whenever you want,” I said, shrugging. “Try not to break it, though.”

“I won’t,” she replied solemnly. 

I nodded. “Well, this is where you’ll be sleeping. I’ll change the sheets out, and I think I have some extra pillows in the storage room—” 

“Wait, where are you sleeping?” 

“On the couch. There’s no school tomorrow, so we can head out and get you another mattress then—” 

“Wait, wait! I’m not going to make you sleep on the couch!” she protested. 

I turned to her. “It’s just one day.”

“Yes, and as your guest, I can—” 

I raised a finger. “Sleep on the bed.”

“But I—” she cut herself off. “Fine.” 

“Thank you. Anyways, that’s the end of the house tour. Want to start unpacking?”

She nodded, apparently mildly put off. “Sure. You said I can put my things in the spare bedroom, right?” 

“Yes, at least until we get another mattress.” 

Without hesitation, she went into the spare room and sat down in the center of the room, faint blue light already glimmering in her hands. Then, she began unsealing objects left and right. Paper, ink, glass vials containing a dark red liquid — was that blood? — dozens of scrolls, more paper, more ink...

But, as she finished unsealing everything and began neatly organizing things, I realized that there wasn’t a single personal effect. Even I had a few small things, but she had absolutely nothing. Maybe this home thing might be more important to her than I had previously thought. 

“All done,” she said cheerfully, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Ah, do you mind if I set up some wards around the house?” 

“Wards?” I asked, then blinked. “Ah, you can make those?” 

She smiled. “Yes. They’re not as complicated as they look.” 

That’s easy enough to say from her perspective. Wards were abstractly simple things — barriers created from seals, designed to ‘seal something out’. Actually putting them into practice, though, required creativity, skill, and a mastery of spatial awareness. That wasn’t even mentioning their weaknesses — they were quite mana-intensive, and a poorly made one ended disastrously and explosively, usually with fatal results to anyone standing near the array when it was triggered. Useful, but dangerous and challenging to learn.

For Setsuna to speak so casually of them implied a much higher level of skill than I had guessed from her, and I had already thought of her as exceptionally skilled for her age. 

“Yeah, go for it,” I said. With my confirmation, she immediately unsealed a stone slab, of all the things. Then, the tip of her finger began glowing a bright blue before she began carving into the surface of the stone.

“You can do so much already...just what else can you do?” I mused under my breath. 

I hadn’t meant for her to hear, but she smiled slightly, still focused on her rock. “Well, not all that much more than what you’ve already seen. I can print a handful of different seals, write about twelve, not counting variations or subarrays, perform basic warding, and—” 

“Printing?” I asked, stunned. 

Printing was the ability to create seals using mana. Whereas wards were mentally challenging, printing was practically challenging, and required an immense amount of control. Even if I had known a seal perfectly, I would have still hesitated to print a seal. One’s control over their mana needed to be absolute to even attempt it, and it was a somewhat rare skill even for sealmasters. 

“Yes, a bit,” she agreed. 

For a moment, I considered the idea that Setsuna might be a better Lunari than I myself was. Her claimed proficiencies were — well, if she had age-appropriate skills, she wouldn’t be nearly as big of a threat as she was. But instead she was entering the Academy with skills more suited to a sealmaster or sealmistress, an absolutely outrageous gap in talent. 

That couldn’t be normal. Then again, though, Setsuna herself was fairly weak as a result of her inability to properly Manaweave. All of her talent and ingenuity served only to close the gap, not tower over it. But if she had been born a proper Manaweaver...

“I don’t mind you watching, but isn’t this boring?” she asked idly, putting down the first of her wardstones and unsealing a new one. 

“It isn’t,” I admitted honestly. “I’ve never seen anyone set up wards, so it’s interesting.” 

“Oh. Want me to explain what I’m doing, then?” she offered as she resumed her carving. 

“Well, I get the general gist of it, but I suspect that anything you could explain to me would just go over my head.”

“Hmm...well, are you familiar with blood wards?” 

“They’re...” I stopped to think, “wards bound to a Manaweaver by their blood, right?”

“Yes. Do you know what makes them different from normal wards, besides that?” 

“Can’t say that I do.” 

She nodded. “That’s fine. Blood wards are tied to their user, right? That means you can get past the heavy mana costs of normal wards, but because you’re bound to them, so long as they’re active...well, what do you think happens if one of them breaks?” 

My eyes widened. “Do you die?”

She smiled approvingly. “It’s not that bad, but you’re on the right track. It’s extremely painful — long story short, you get spiritual feedback. Actually, even having a blood ward hit is a bit painful. I have to use them because I don’t have the mana to throw down a normal barrier, and the weaknesses are just a risk that comes with the field. But there’s a condition that would let you suffer the penalties of a broken blood ward without that major drawback, isn’t there?” 

“Ah,” I understood immediately. “Analgesia, the inability to feel pain.” 

She nodded once, unsealing her third stone. “Exactly! So, Yuki...could you give me some of your blood? In the event of an attack on the house, using your blood will be stronger since you’re a more proficient Manaweaver than I am, and it’ll be safer if they’re broken.” 

“This is just for the ward outside our house, right?” I asked to confirm. “I don’t think I want you to use my blood for any other wards.” 

She nodded quickly, pausing her work. “Of course!” 

“Alright. How much do you need?” 

“Enough to fill this vial.” She handed the container over to me. I held my wrist over the top, then channeled my Wind and lacerated my skin deeply. 

“W-What — are you okay?!” Setsuna yelped, moving to put pressure on the injury. I raised my free hand in a stopping gesture, warding her off as I manipulated the air to direct the flowing blood straight into the vial.

“I’m fine. Cut a little deeper than I intended, but...” 

“A little deeper?! You need medical attention for that!” 

I decided I had about enough blood for the vial and stopped resisting my natural instincts, the wound rapidly sealing shut. 

“No, see? I’m fine.” I turned my wrist for her inspection. She touched it gingerly, staring at the Ice still freezing the wound shut. 

“So you really can heal...? I guess that’s why you weren’t worried, but...” 

“You wouldn’t, either, after long enough.” I replied, handing her the filled vial. 

“I guess not.” she said uncertainly as she returned to her carving. “Just what can you do? I don’t know anything about your aberration besides what is common knowledge...namely, that you, ah, eventually go insane, and that you’re immune to pain. And that you can heal.” 

“That’s not far off.” I watched her finger burn into the solid stone. “I’ve mostly worked on things that can’t easily be seen. My mana reinforcement is exceptional and I have a significantly accelerated healing factor. Most of the rest I can do is little more than what a basic Earthweaver could do. And, of course, I have a controllable form of analgesia, though it applies to all emotions and most feelings and sensations, not just pain.” 

“That’s it?” Setsuna asked. Surprise saturated her voice as she put down the third wardstone, and unsealed yet another. 

“There hasn’t been much of a point training it if I can’t be allowed to use it.” I retorted dryly. “I have focused a lot more on my fundamentals. My control is very good, though, and my mana capacity is significant. I probably have the second most efficient Manaweaving in the entire year, save for you.” 

Instead of getting a smile out from her, though, she looked troubled. “But...” 

“Hm?”

“Never mind,” she mumbled, continuing to carve into the last stone. “I’m just about done here for tonight.” 

I wasn’t sure what she’d thought of that was bothering her so much, but I let it go. “Don’t you need to use my blood for the wardstones?”

She nodded, putting the last wardstone down. “Yes, but...tomorrow, perhaps? I’m afraid that was rather intensive.” It was then that I realized that Setsuna was breathing rather heavily. The technique she was using with her finger was a minor application of mana, but a somewhat intensive one. In hindsight, I was surprised that she could manage for as long as she had, what with her status as a pseudo-Manaweaver. 

“If you’d like, I can finish dinner while you rest up,” I offered. 

“Please,” she agreed. 

...

Dinner went by quickly. Setsuna seemed to be rather exhausted from her sealwork and ate in silence. I didn’t mind, though, since I preferred to eat quietly anyways. She insisted on cleaning up by herself, though, and so I left her to it, taking a seat on the couch in the living room and closing my eyes. 

And, as per tradition every evening, I slipped into a trance. Meditation was something that came particularly easy to me — turning my mind off was an aspect of my aberration, after all. 

My senses reached out, first to the mana within me, then to the mana in the air. Good sensors could detect when a Manaweaver has passed through the area by detecting faint traces of their personal mana signature. I wasn’t quite that good yet, though, but I have enough control to feel out Setsuna’s manatrace. It was incredibly faint, though, even though she had just been in the room not so long ago. 

Setsuna, I realized, had the potential to be an absolutely devastating assassin. If her unsuppressed manatrace was this faint, what would it be like if she actually tried? Only the absolute best would be able to pick up on her trail. With her ability to move around, she’d— 

“Are you always this easy to sneak up on?” she asked from behind me. I snapped out of the trance, nearly falling off the couch, and turned to see a mischievous smile on her face. 

“Don’t scare me like that,” I groaned, consciously suppressing my racing emotions. “Did you finish?”

“Yep!” she chirped, “though I moved the knives since they’re in a bit of a dangerous spot. I almost knocked them over when I was putting away the pan.”

“I guess that’s fine. Maybe it’ll prevent some unnecessary kitchen accidents.”

She nodded. “Do you mind if I turn in earlier tonight? I’m still feeling very tired.”

“Of course,” I said. “Feel free to use the bathroom as necessary.” 

“Thanks,” There was something strange in her voice, a strange sort of reluctance that I wasn’t sure how to interpret. “I’ll...see you tomorrow?” 

“Okay,” I agreed, studying her intently. “Are you alright?”

She smiled, a little wanly. “I’m fine. Good night, Yuki.”

“Good night.”

She left the room, humming under her breath. I slipped back into my meditation trance, more contemplative than before. 

...

**“…No!!!”**

My eyes instantly snapped open at the feminine scream, and I vaulted into a standing position before I was even fully awake. 

“Setsuna—!?” I hastily made my way over to the bedroom, pushing the door open as mana pooled underneath my skin, ready to be unleashed. My housemate was sitting up in bed, clutching her chest. At my entrance, her head snapped up, eyes glimmering with unshed tears as she gasped for breath. 

“Ah…Yuki…I’m sorry for…f-for waking you…” 

Other than her clear distress, there didn’t seem to be any threats. I relaxed, focusing back on the girl in front of me. “What happened?”

“Just...just a nightmare.” She took a deep breath, wiping at her eyes. “It’s okay. I’ll be f-fine. I’m sorry for disturbing you.” 

It didn’t take me long to come to a decision when faced with that.

“Would you like to talk about it?”

Her eyes widened. “H-Huh?” 

“Your nightmares. I understand that talking about them may serve as a deterrent to future ones.”

I watched as her thoughts flitted across her face, the minute tightening of her expression as she came to the offered conclusion.

“Who did you talk to, in order to get rid of your own dreams?” she asked. 

I smiled back sardonically. “I had no one. That’s why I’m offering now.” 

Her fingers fidgeted with the sheets. “I...it’s...it’s dark, always dark, at first. That’s how they all start. A cold, encompassing black. But I can feel myself. An empty, endless plane of shadow.” She swallowed. “And I’m always...I’m always being hunted.” 

“By what?” 

“I don’t know.”

“Do you run away?”

“Of course.” She trembled. “But I’m always caught. No matter how hard I try to run, I’m always...t-the shadows pull me in.”

“And that’s when you wake up?” 

She nodded mutely. It was at about that point that I realized that I didn’t know how to help her. Reading about potential solutions to solve one’s own nightmares didn’t prepare me to actually comfort someone, and I didn’t know how to even begin.

Thankfully, though, she seemed to understand. “I don’t know if I feel better,” she said, managing a small smile, “but I feel less alone, so that helps. Thank you, Yuki.” 

I nodded. “If there’s anything else I can do for you, let me know. I’ll do my best to help you.” 

Even if I wasn’t very good at it.

“Actually, there is…” She swallowed. “Could I — if it wouldn’t be too much to ask, could I hold your hand? Just…just until I fall back asleep again.” 

I blinked, surprised. 

“Sure,” I agreed. She shifted aside, apparently intent on having me lie down next to her. That wasn’t exactly what I’d had in mind, but it was better than the couch, I supposed. 

I laid down and tucked myself in, making sure to keep some distance between us. Her hand found mine underneath the bed. It was small and fragile, but she had the calluses that came from a lot of writing. 

“It’s…cool…?” 

“Is that bad?”

She shook her head quickly, her grip tightening. “No. Not at all.” She smiled slightly. “Not at all.” 

Holding my hand really did seem to help her, as she fell asleep only a few minutes later. I didn’t need to hold her hand anymore, now, but...just for tonight, this wouldn’t be so bad.

“…Good night, Setsuna.”

I wasn’t sure what it was. Most likely, it was the discussion of Setsuna’s nightmares. Whatever it was, her words resonated within me, and dreams I had thought laid to rest rose up once more to haunt me. 

  
  



	5. (1.2.1) Guardian, Part 1

#  **(1.2.1) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Guardian, Part 1**

As always, it started with piercing white light. 

Unlike before, though, I wasn’t trapped any longer. The awareness that I was in a dream filtered into me, an awareness I hadn’t always had. Not until I had trained my Ice abilities. I could have broken the nightmare the same way I could break virtually anything of psychological origin. 

But this time, I refused to. Not out of pride, but because I was tired of running. Perhaps that was Setsuna’s influence. Watching someone who was willing to achieve the impossible, day after day...for some reason, it made me want to try a little harder, too. 

So I stopped fighting the flow of the dream, the harsh glare fading away to reveal a simple, familiar bedroom, and looked down to see the body of my father. 

He was a crumpled form on the ground, back facing me. There was no blood — at least, not from him. Behind me, I knew, I’d find the fallen form of my mother. And if I lifted my shoes up, I knew they would be dripping with her blood. 

Then the voices, always male— 

“Look, the kid’s still here.” 

“Guess he’s a ward of the state, now.” 

“Academy, then?” 

“Yeah. Worst thing that happens is he washes out, right?” 

“Mm. But if that happens, he’s not our responsibility anymore.” 

Then another, deeper voice, one that cuts through the scene like a knife. My surroundings evaporate, fading into darkness. 

“I think I’ll take this opportunity to run a little experiment...” 

...

I slowly returned to consciousness.

“Good morning, Yuki,” a feminine voice said, and I nearly lashed out with a blast of Ice until I realized who was talking. 

“Good morning, Setsuna,” I replied, opening my eyes to studying her. “You seem to have slept well.” 

She smiled, her hand still gripping mine. “Yeah. Thanks to you.” 

“Do you normally sleep poorly because of your nightmares?” 

She averted her gaze. “Usually, I don’t sleep well at all.”

I processed her words with a frown. The implications of that statement...

“Would you like me to hold your hand every night, then?”

She blinked, surprised. “You would be okay with that?” 

I shrugged. “It will help me sleep better.”

Setsuna winced.

“—And I don’t mind it if it will help you sleep better, too. And it’ll save me the cost of a new bed,” I added hastily. 

She hesitated, then nodded. “Then, if it wouldn’t be too much for you, please.” She let go of my hand.

“I can do that.” 

She smiled gratefully, then slipped out of the bed and out the door, presumably to change her clothes and shower. I moved to start breakfast, but paused as I stepped over the threshold and glanced at the spare bedroom. 

My mind flitted back to the dream I had. This is where it happened. 

But for some reason, I don’t remember how it happened...

...

Eating was a quick affair — rice and fish. I wasn’t too much of a morning person, even if I was able to force my body to function as if I were one. Setsuna didn’t seem particularly inclined to break the silence, apparently lost in thought herself.

“I’ve been meaning to head to the library to do some reading. Want to come with me?” I eventually said. She agreed, and we headed out soon after.

The South Library was closer to us than the Academy, and so it only took us ten minutes to get there. It’s a four-story stone building, and easily the most decorated building in the vicinity, with many indents and carvings. It’s easy to see how a younger Setsuna might have been able to sneak in, though it didn’t look like you could get inside without breaking the windows. 

Putting aside Setsuna’s potentially delinquent childhood, we got inside with a flash of our Student ID cards. Since we haven’t graduated from the Academy yet, we’re restricted to the ground floor only. Still, there’s plenty of content, and I immediately made a beeline for the mana theory section as Setsuna split off to go look at seals. Recognizing one of the author’s names immediately, I pulled the book off the shelf, sat at a nearby table, and began reading.

My goal: figure out how I could help Setsuna be a more effective Manaweaver. 

Mana had three aspects: Potentia, the physical; Psychia, the mental; Etheria, the soul. The author of this book posited that every individual had a finite amount of Etheria — obviously true — but only the most powerful, advanced techniques called on it. That seemed reasonable enough — there were old Lunari, after all, as rare as they were. 

But just what was Etheria? In the Academy, I’d learned about it only as ‘life energy’ and didn’t know anything beyond that. If only the most powerful techniques utilized Etheria, a process I didn’t even know how to start, then surely it must be something very potent. 

I was about halfway through the book when I was interrupted.

“Yo,” a familiar feminine voice called out to me. 

I glanced up. “Good morning, Sayaka.” The blue-haired girl in question was holding at least six different books in her arms. 

_‘Advanced Mana Theory, Volume 2’…’The Energy Trinity’…’An Analysis of Wind’…_ and, wait, that looked familiar— 

“Are you also a fan of Miss Kozakura’s work?” I asked. She was holding a copy of the same volume I was. 

“Yep! She presents some really interesting ideas. Mind if I sit next to you?”

“Go for it.”

She took a seat, opening her copy of the book I was reading. 

_‘A Practical Introduction to the Nature of Etheria’_ by Hikaru Kozakura, also commonly known as the ‘Goddess of Mercy’. She possessed a unique Regeneration aberration that allowed her to rapidly heal damage to herself at a rate far exceeding that of literally anything else, beyond even the best of healers. It wasn’t too dissimilar to my own healing thanks to my Ice aberration, but hers was vastly superior. 

To take advantage of that incredible power, she became a medic and figured out how to manifest her regenerative power to work on others, as well. And so began the rise of the so-called Goddess of Mercy. She had an unprecedented tenth-star qualification as a Healer and held multiple element masteries. She didn’t take missions anymore, though. Instead, she stayed inside the village to work as a full-time healer and researcher, with a handful of apprentices under her belt. And by using this knowledge of hers as well as her incredible control, she was able to shed new light on old ideas and make groundbreaking strides in research on mana theory. 

And she was only one of forty such similar ninth-star Lunari, though none were as prolific as her. It was with good reason that the village of Alune was considered the strongest in Lunaria. No other village had as many powerhouses as we do — not by a long shot. 

“How do you feel about her opinion on life energy?” Sayaka asked a few minutes later, looking up at me from her book.

“It’s pretty interesting,” I replied. “As you should know, we haven’t gone over this much in the Academy. But it sounds like there’s something in particular you had in mind.” 

She nodded. “How much reading do you do? Specifically, accounts of war and combat?”

“Not much,” I admitted. “Most of my study is focused on the academic and practical.”

“There’s not much that’s more practical than live accounts,” she retorted. “But fair enough. Are you at least familiar with how Lunari are sometimes able to pull out a power that distinctly sounds like Etheria when they’re near the brink of death?” 

“It’s not adrenaline?” I asked curiously. “That’s what I’ve always assumed it to be.”

She shook her head. “The two can be confused, but there’s definitely some examples of Etheria usage — you can’t use adrenaline to superpower a technique, after all.”

“For now, I’ll take your word for it,” I agreed. “I’ll do my own research on the matter later, but I’ll assume for now that you are right for the sake of debate. What is your point?” 

“Yes. Don’t you think that kind of thing would be mentioned in this?” Sayaka gestured at the book in front of her. “It’s a usage of Etheria — well, assuming I’m right — that can be called on without advanced abilities! One of the accounts I read was from an _Academy_ student! Well, they were that age, at least. And I’m willing to believe it on the grounds that that kid is now the strongest Windweaver in Alune! So...why isn’t it mentioned in here?”

I closed my eyes, lost in thought. 

Could untrained Lunari force life energy out of themselves to empower techniques through raw willpower or emotional stress? 

I felt like it was reasonably safe to assume that Sayaka did her research properly. Offhandedly, I couldn’t think of any reason why you wouldn’t be able to draw on your Etheria in a moment of desperation, but that might have just been my own ignorance. Granted, I didn’t know how to manipulate it, but I couldn’t rule out the idea, either. And there was some evidence to support that you could. So then, why not include it, even if just as a discussion topic? Or rather, what would stop Hikaru Kozakura from mentioning it?

Once I thought about it like that, the answer wasn’t hard to find. “It’s most likely because she doesn’t want to discourage Lunari from trying to pull that extra spark of energy out. If they know that doing so would burn away their life, some might hesitate — and in that kind of situation, hesitation would be fatal. That’s probably why she didn’t even include a section on it in the first place. She doesn’t want people to come to the conclusion we have.”

“That is correct,” a melodic voice spoke up from behind us. We whirled around — I hadn’t even detected her, but she was surprisingly close — and came face to face with…

My mouth dried instantly. “Miss Kozakura, an honor.” 

She was a short young woman about a meter and a half tall, with black hair wrapped in a short ponytail. Warm brown eyes projected a friendly aura, and matched with the rest of her features to give her an almost motherly look. Her clothing was almost civilian in nature, a simple white dress that went down to her knees. 

She smiled kindly. “You were right. I wouldn’t want people to hesitate to protect themselves or their comrades, and it’s not something that would be good for Lunari at large to know — it would meaninglessly increase the scale of conflicts. So I didn’t include it, and I would prefer if you didn’t spread it around.”

“Of course. I won’t say anything,” I promised. Sayaka nodded meekly. 

“Thank you. I must say, I was quite surprised to hear someone so young hit upon that so fast. You two are of Academy age, aren’t you?” She asked.

“Y-Yes,” Sayaka squeaked out, apparently too intimidated to talk much.

“Sixth year, to be exact,” I clarified, a bit less star-struck. 

She hummed thoughtfully. “A bit under two years…alright, assuming you’re still alive by the time you graduate and get on a team, please contact me when you hit fourth-star. You’ll be able to catch me at the hospital, of course. I expect you to be at least a fifth-star healer by then, understand?”

My jaw dropped. “Of course!” I hastily bowed as deeply as I could manage.

It didn’t matter that I only had a basic understanding of healing and anatomy. The fact of the matter was that I had just been offered a potential apprenticeship by the Goddess of Mercy herself. That simply wasn’t something you ignored just because ‘you didn’t specialize in healing’. 

“I’ll see you then,” she said, smiling. Then she turned to my companion.

“You two must be…hm, rivals, I’d guess?” 

“Yes, but…h-how did you know?” Sayaka stuttered out. 

Miss Kozakura winked. “Call it a woman's intuition. You seem like a pretty talented girl yourself, so I’ll offer you the same opportunity. Fourth-star Lunari, fifth-star healer.”

“Is this a competitive offer?” I asked. 

“No, it won’t be. I want you two to help each other grow. It doesn’t matter who gets there first; so long as you’re a fifth-star healer by the time you hit fourth-star level, I’ll take you on.” 

“I understand. Thank you, Miss Kozakura,” I said.

She waved negligently. “Ah, just call me Hikaru instead. You two will be my apprentices in the future anyways, so you can just use my first name. Speaking of which, may I have your names?”

“Sayaka Hoshiko,” The blunette mumbled.

“I’m Yuki…” I trailed off, not having a last name to give. She seemed to understand instantly, nodding. 

“Sayaka and Yuki, then? I’ll be sure to remember that.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “It seems like I really should be going now, unless you have any last questions for me…?” 

My mind raced ahead, thinking overtime— 

“I have two, actually, if you don’t mind,” I blurted out, not too sure of the second one yet, but needing to stall her while I formulated it properly. 

“Go for it.”

“Firstly, do you regularly frequent this area? In other words, it was pure coincidence that you’re here, right?” I asked. 

Wait, that was two questions! 

She looked mildly amused — I’ve no doubt that she caught my mistake. “Yes, I do, and it was. I tend to wander the libraries frequently — it’s part of my work as a researcher and author, after all,” she said, smiling. “Your other question?”

“I…” I glanced at Sayaka. “I have a friend that isn’t a natural-born User, but wants to be a Lunari anyways. I’m not sure of the specifics, but she designed a seal system that would absorb ambient mana and store it in her system for use, and had someone empower it.” Hikaru’s eyes glittered with interest. “This works as a stopgap to let her train to be a Lunari, but it’s going to severely limit her growth. Is there anything on the medical side that could help her out?”

“That is interesting,” she mused. “I’d have to check her out in person to give a better opinion, but there is probably a ritual or two out there that might help her. I’ll get back to you on that." 

“Of course. Thank you so much,” I bowed deeply.

“Ah, no problem. I’m always happy to give advice,” she said, smiling. “Well, I really should be off, since it doesn’t appear Sayaka has any questions for me.” 

Wordlessly, the blunette shook her head. 

“Well, I’ll hope to see you two in a few years, then! Farewell, Yuki and Sayaka,” she waved, heading away to the exit.

“Farewell!” we called after her — quietly, of course. We’re still in a library. 

Once she was out of sight, Sayaka rushed me, wrapping me in a quick hug.

“Thankyousomuch!” she babbled. “That really…we just…”

“Were offered an apprenticeship by the Goddess of Mercy herself? Yes.” I agreed, still a little shocked myself. I hadn’t anticipated becoming a healer, what with my own regenerative powers, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. It meant I could protect the people I cared about better.

“I won’t say anything about Setsuna,” she promised. 

“Thank you,” I replied, but she shook her head.

“No, I…I owe you, damn it. That wouldn’t have happened without you.” 

“If you hadn’t said anything in the first place, I may not have figured anything out.” I pointed out. 

Sayaka shook her head. “Even so…you’re the one she noticed. I just happened to be there. Seriously, Yuki…Thank you. I’ll find a way to repay you for this.” 

I shrugged. “Be my rival, then. I don’t know. I don’t really want anything.” 

“Your rival, huh?” she murmured, evaluating me. “Yes…I can do that.” She put her hands on her hips. “You’d better prepare yourself, Yuki! I’m going to beat you to the top!” 

I rolled my eyes. “Act like that, and I’ll have to disown you as my rival.”

She grinned. “You have a good heart, Yuki. Never change.” 

I blinked, surprised at the apparent non-sequitur. “If you say so.” 

“Anyways, it’s about time for me to go.” Sayaka said, standing up with her books in hand. “So…I’ll be off.” 

“Off to do what?” I asked curiously. 

She shrugged. “I guess I’ll go see if I can’t drag Kaede away from the flower shop to train with me.”

I nodded. “Good luck, Sayaka.” 

The blunette smiled wanly. “Thank you.” 

She walked off, leaving me with my thoughts. 

Sayaka didn’t know what she wanted to do, or how she was to get there. But now, I had inadvertently, indirectly, given her a path. And I’ve gained one of my own, too, sort of. Because maybe there was still something I could do, besides that faraway, intangible goal of wanting to bring good. There was someone I'd started to care about a little, wasn't there?

At that moment, I decided that I wanted to live.

I didn’t know how I’d be able to turn away my fate, but I would. 

I wanted to live. 

... 

I found a few more books, checked them out with my student ID, and hunted down Setsuna. As I’d expected, she was sitting in the section regarding seals, with a pile of books and a small journal in front of her, and was rapidly scribbling notes in extremely neat handwriting.

She really did have a talent for writing. I couldn’t write that fast, even in shorthand. 

“Hey, Setsuna. How’s it going?” I asked, peering over her shoulder curiously.

“Good,” she muttered distractedly, flipping the page in front of her before continuing to write. I glanced down.

‘The Divine Nature of the Second Dimension’? 

Let’s see…this talked about the Void, the other dimension where sealed objects were rumored to be stored. The author seemed to be using religious terms in his descriptions…was this the book of some strange cult? It’s hard to decipher what exactly he meant, although I gathered that his primary point was that the Void wasn’t something that anything living made it out of. Maybe. 

The page was flipped. I hadn’t even gotten halfway! Just how fast could she read?!

Rather than try to continue understanding that gibberish, I looked down at Setsuna’s notes instead.

I...couldn’t read any of this. 

“Is this in a different language, or in code?” I asked, bewildered. She spared half a second to glance my way.

“Both.” 

Most of the characters weren’t recognizable as a language I’m familiar with, so I couldn’t even decipher it. This was one hell of a code, but she’s able to write extremely fluently in it? No, wait, these look like...seals? 

“Ah, I see. What is this book actually about? I could barely tell because of all the religious tangents.” 

“The Void. Specifically its history, but there’s useful tidbits between the proselytizing that I haven’t seen much of elsewhere. I’ll have to correlate it.” 

That didn’t seem like something that useful. 

“Why encode it, then?” I asked.

“Sealing knowledge of any kind is precious. If I die with this on me, I don’t want others to read it, especially not potential enemies.” 

I didn’t think it was that important — this book, after all, could be found in a public library, albeit a Lunari one — but it was good practice.

“Need any help?” I offered. She gave me a dubious look. 

“They’re…pretty hard to understand. I started with the easiest one,” she replied. I winced, getting her point.

“Maybe not, then.” I admitted. I took a seat next to her and turned back to my own research. This time, though, my attention was on _“An Introduction to Beginner Healing”_ by Hikaru Kozakura. After all, I must become a fifth-star healer in order to receive the apprenticeship. And though that should be some time away, it wouldn’t hurt to start preparing early. Apparently, the average time to possess basic competency — the fourth-star level, out of nine — was two full years. And the seventh-star level, which was considered ‘elite’, took about five _._

There were two main forms of healing — direct healing and indirect healing. Of the two, indirect healing was both far more potent and far easier — it was apparently the infusion of the medic’s own Etheria in order to force their patient’s body to put itself together. Of course, attached was a warning — careless usage of it would drain your core of Etheria and kill you. There aren’t any instructions on how to utilize this method in this book, though.

The direct healing section was far, far more detailed, and required a vast amount of knowledge and understanding of human anatomy, biology, chemistry, biochemistry, as well as a nearly perfect control over one’s own mana...

I’ve never been afraid to learn, though. 

...

In the end, we didn’t leave the library until sunset. I wound up checking out over a dozen books on various subjects. Setsuna rented out a few herself, although she seemed to have moved on from the lore in the library to a book containing a dizzyingly incomprehensible series of arrays. 

The rest of the evening went by quickly, and soon enough I was holding Setsuna’s hand in mine. 

Sleep came easily.


	6. (1.2.2) Guardian, Part 2

#  **(1.2.2) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Guardian, Part 2**

School resumed its familiar rhythm. I noticed a few more stares than normal, undoubtedly a product of my triumph over Sayaka, but nothing of importance happened until the final class. 

“You should already have a solid theoretical grasp on the primary four elements. Today, we’ll explore something called ‘aspect shifting’, which is relevant for those of you who have two different affinities, or who are interested in developing such.” 

The teacher flared her aura. It was clearly identifiable as Fire — although it wasn’t visible, anyone with any awareness of mana at all could make an educated guess based on the sense of heat that she radiated. 

“Right now, my set affinity is Fire. Just about all of you have unlocked your primary affinity, whatever it may be, and from your first awakening you have been set in that type. However, you aren’t limited to just one affinity. Through aspect shifting, you can change to other affinities that you have awakened. I am personally attuned to three different affinities; Fire, Water, and Wind. Being able to aspect shift rapidly is important for those who want to proficiently wield multiple elements.” 

Abruptly, the impression of heat shifted to coolness, then to a feeling I could only describe as ‘airiness’. 

“Note that it would be much harder to detect my aura at its normal level.”

The feeling weighing on us instantly diminished.

“And it would be even harder if I actively tried to hide my aura.”

The feeling faded away to the point of being indistinguishable. Her control was good enough that I could just barely identify her as a Manaweaver when she actively tried to suppress her power.

“Flaring your aura is useful when you need to intimidate someone that you are stronger than, for example, not to mention its uses inside of combat. But you should also consider what information you are giving away when you choose to do so…such as, Yuki?”

I hesitated, wondering if I was reading too much into the question. “Your affinity and your overall strength. Making people think that you are weaker than you seem can be a good strategy; namely, if someone who thinks you’re weak tries to intimidate you, you can throw them off guard by revealing your actual strength.” 

“Correct,” she said approvingly. “So be sure that you have all the information you need before trying to fight someone. You never know what they’re hiding. Incidentally, Yuki, I called on you for a different reason entirely. You seem to be the only one in this class, and, indeed, the entire South Academy, with a developed dual affinity. Water and Wind, correct?”

I suppressed a grimace, realizing where this conversation was going. 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“Could you demonstrate aspect shifting to the class?” It was a politely phrased question, but there’s more than a little steel in her tone. 

...Not good.

“Yes, ma’am,” I repeated, standing up and walking towards the front of the class as my mind raced. 

“Now, I’m not quite as good with this as our instructor—“ this managed to elicit a few smiles and smirks, “—but I am capable of utilizing a Wind and Water affinity. Actually, I only first invoked my Water affinity this last month.” 

As I talked, I focused on my mana and shoved every remnant of Ice deep, deep within me. Everyone would be looking extra closely, including my teacher. I couldn’t let anything show, or I’d be killed for sure! 

“It’s a bit imprecise to say that I have a dual affinity, as it implies that I can use Wind and Water equally. That isn’t correct — Wind is without a doubt my primary affinity, and the one that comes more easily to me. Water is the affinity I awakened second, and takes a lot more work for me to use.”

In front of me, the class stared with varied interest — Sayaka, in particular, seemed curious as to just what I could do. 

“My aspect shift takes two minutes, so please excuse me for the delay.” 

That was a lie. It took just one, but I didn’t want them to know that. I closed my eyes. 

It was impossible to describe the process to someone who wasn’t a Manaweaver, who couldn’t feel the currents of energy in the air. Every element had its own scent, its own taste, its own feeling, different to every Manaweaver. Wind had a neutral scent, though it always felt like my power was rushing through my veins whenever I shifted to it. 

Water was different. Invoking Water was an inescapable, implacable feeling of drowning. Subtle, though, but it was there nonetheless, like I was handling something I wasn’t truly meant for. That might have been related to the fact that I’d hurled myself into a waterfall to awaken it, though...

Having stalled enough, I let the familiar feeling flow through me as I focus on my mana. Water was still a relatively unfamiliar element to me compared to Wind and especially compared to Ice, though, so in order to switch to it, I actually really did need to concentrate on it. 

A minute later, and I finished the shift, calling mana to my hand to create a small orb of fresh water in my palm. The class politely clapped as I manipulated it into my mouth and proceeded to drink it. 

“Thank you, Yuki, for that demonstration — you may take your seat.”

Wait, was that it? That exercise...wasn’t it a bit strange? Still, though, I mentally sighed in relief, returning to my desk.

“While Yuki is able to utilize both elements, please take careful note of the strengths and weaknesses inherent in training multiple affinities. Clearly, it will take him more time to train two as opposed to one, and as you should all know, hyperspecialization is generally a better path to follow...”

...

...

...

“Setsuna, can you wait up for me?” I asked, watching the instructor leave. “I need to talk to her.” 

She glanced at my target, then nodded. “I’ll be here. Take your time, okay?”

I agreed, then went after her, grabbing my bag and entering the hall. It took a moment for me to place the woman amongst the crowd of students, but I quickly trailed her as she went down a floor and moved into a classroom. 

Perplexed, I followed her inside, and found her standing next to the open window, facing the entrance. 

“Is there something you needed?” She asked. 

Oh. Of course she knew I was following her. 

“Is there a reason you put me on the spot like that, ma’am?” I asked. “There was zero educational value in making the class watch me aspect shift. From their perspective, they saw basically nothing besides a single Water cast.” 

“You are right,” she agreed, seemingly amused, “but that wasn’t the lesson I was teaching. As you should know, you are now the top student in the class. With that prestige comes responsibilities, whether or not you are willing to accept them.”

I grimaced. “Such as being a role model?”

She smiled approvingly. “Precisely. I won’t sugarcoat it for you — you were used, yes. But that is your role in the end. Whether or not you like it does not, and will not, affect my further lesson plans.” 

“I understand,” I said evenly. “Thank you for enlightening me.” 

She inclined her head. “Is that all, young man?” 

I nodded, then turned around and left the classroom, walking back to where I’d left Setsuna. I couldn’t completely suppress an irritated sigh as I did. 

My role is to be used? I’m supposed to be a role model? 

The thought unsettled me, though I’d refused to show it in front of her. Ever since I’d beaten Sayaka, things had changed. No one had said anything to me, but I could pick up on the glances and occasional whispers. 

Being a role model was the last thing I wanted — it would bring far too much attention to me. Perhaps I could arrange to have Sayaka defeat me later on to have her reclaim the ‘throne’, so to speak...but I’d have to make sure that she didn’t know I was letting her win. She probably wouldn’t take that well.

I shook my head and cleared my thoughts, turning the corner into the hallway. I was just in time to watch two students slip into the classroom Setsuna should still be waiting in. Frowning, I suppressed my aura and crept closer. 

As I approached the door, I could hear voices.

“What do you want?” Setsuna. 

“You should already know,” a feminine voice sneered. “You’re the reason Chikako got cut out from class!” 

“Who’s Chikako?” Setsuna asked, sounding completely indifferent.

A masculine voice cut in. “There’s only seventy-five students in this grade. And because you transferred in, she got kicked from the program!” 

“Okay,” Setsuna said. “Is that it?” 

“Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?” Another girl shouted angrily. It seems that there were more than two students, and I’d arrived just in time to see the last of them. 

“What do you want me to do about it?” Setsuna retorted, the sound of a chair scraping following the words. She must have stood up — after all, the hostility emanating from the speakers was unmistakable. 

“Prove yourself!” a different boy yelled. “You’re just a cripple! You can’t use any of the elements! I bet you can’t use mana at all, can you? You don’t even belong here!” 

I went still. 

Did Sayaka—? No, it wouldn’t have been her. Then...did they overhear—?

Either way, I knew enough about the situation. It was time to intervene. I took a deep breath, then stepped forward and through the doorway, still cloaking my aura. As it turned out, there were six of them, and none of them were suppressing their mana. All three of the males were Fireweavers, though one of them felt rather off. The remaining three girls were Water, Wind, and Earth respectively.

At the beginner level, Wind was a toss-up into Fire and did poorly into Water. On the other hand, Water trounced Fire and Wind both and I should be more skilled in its use than the other Waterweaver. With that in mind, I began aspect shifting to Water even as I opened my mouth to speak— 

“Setsuna, are you ready to go home?” 

She stared at me, surprised, even as the other six turned around. 

“You’ll have to go on without her.” One of the boys said. “She’s currently rather busy.” 

“Then I’ll stay and wait until she’s done.” I said firmly. 

The six sent uneasy looks towards each other. I guess my stupid new reputation was useful for something. 

“It’ll take some time,” one of the girls demurred, moving up and smiling prettily at me. “I’m sure someone as strong as you has better things to do with their time?”

“I intended on training with her,” I insisted, immune to the effects of her flirting by lieu of not having the feelings to manipulate in the first place. “What exactly is so pressing that she can’t leave now?” 

One of the boys stepped up, the strange-feeling Fireweaver. “I'll spar with you while we wait.” 

...I’m tired of this farce.

“Enough. I’m not interested in children’s games,” I retorted. “Stop wasting my time. I know what you’re trying to do here, and it’s stupid and petty. Just leave.” 

Their faces grew dark. 

“Look,” another boy interjected, “just get out of here. Our business isn’t with you.”

I pretend to think about it for a few seconds. “Isn’t it, though?”

“How so?”

“As far as I can see, eventually I’ll have to work with some of the students who graduate. Assuming they survive their first years, that is. I’ll have to rely on them as teammates, as comrades, and as people I can trust my life to. And if those people let me down? Well, then I might be the one who pays the price for their incompetence. And let’s be clear, shall we?” I crossed my arms across my chest. “Chikako was weak, useless, and not motivated in the slightest, and I’m glad she was cut. Setsuna’s transfer might have saved her life. Now Chikako can live the rest of her life in peaceful mediocrity.” 

“You dare—” one of the girls tried to cut me off.

“I **do**.” I said coldly, trampling over her. She flinched, apparently not having expected resistance. “Watching you people try to do something as pathetic as bully someone? It offends me. It offends me greatly. But more than that? It’s profoundly stupid. I have no doubts that Setsuna will be one of the students that graduates this year, which in turn means that, one day, you might find yourself fighting alongside her. And you wish to bully her? You are all shortsighted fools.” 

“Shut up,” the first boy snarled. He seemed to be the leader judging by how his words rallied the others. “You—” 

Setsuna abruptly stood up behind me, moving away from her desk to stand next to me. 

“You want me to prove my place?” Setsuna asked, sounding surprisingly bitter. Her face, though, was completely blank, until an odd little smile slid across her face. “Well, there’s six of you. I’m willing to fight any of you, whoever you think is strongest. Surely you aren’t afraid, right? After all, I’m just a cripple.” 

I frowned, ready to intervene, but it was then that I saw her eyes burning brightly with something I could almost call malice, and it forced me to stay my hand. The leader opened his mouth, but the other Fireweaver interjected, an intense look on his face. “I’ve got this.” Flames flickered around his fingers briefly.

Setsuna didn’t look impressed. “Alright. Let us go to the courtyard, then.”

_..._

The eight of us gathered on the grassy fields outside of the school building. It was still a little damp from a mid-afternoon rain shower. 

“This should be quick,” one of the girls muttered under her breath. 

Setsuna was standing less than ten meters away from her opponent, who had a dangerous look on his face. Perhaps he was the one most attached to Chikako — either way, if Setsuna looked like she was losing control of the fight, I was ready to step in. He seemed like he might actually seriously hurt her, and I wasn’t going to stand and watch that happen, Setsuna’s plans be damned.

“On three,” their leader said. “Stop on...well, when I feel like it, really.” 

Setsuna nodded. The other boy just scowled. 

“Three...two...one...”

Stay safe, Setsuna.

“Go!” 

Setsuna immediately leapt back. I couldn’t tell what, but something suddenly looked different about her — her shoes were missing! Her opponent raced after her, looking to cut the distance. A sadistic smirk crossed his face at the sight of his opponent running— 

And then a sharp crack rang out, the boy collapsing face-first onto the ground, apparently stunned by — electricity? 

“Congratulations.” Setsuna said flatly into the shocked silence, “you lasted about two seconds. I could have used an explosive instead, but you don’t deserve to lose your legs for the crime of being an idiot. Still, though, I bet you think I cheated, didn’t you? That it wasn’t a fair fight? So hurry up and stand so I can beat you into the ground.” Black lines lanced across her body — clearly some kind of seal. With it, her aura sharpened significantly, though strangely, too — there was no element associated with it, but she gave off the impression of power nonetheless. 

I’d...I’d almost forgotten over the last few days, but Setsuna wasn’t the helpless girl I’d been treating her as, was she? 

The boy slowly crawled to his feet, a hateful glare on his face. It’s clear that the shock left him a little numb, and he still seemed to suffer from spasms. It wasn’t enough to stop him from conjuring a ball of fire in his hand— 

Setsuna darted forward far faster than anyone expected and slammed her fist into his stomach, the boy’s guard coming up too late as he abandoned his fireball, the flames dissipating. 

Those seals — they’re empowering her?

The boy staggered back, but Setsuna didn't let up, chaining together a combination of surprisingly powerful punches and kicks. The boy managed to pull up a guard, deflecting some of the hits, then abruptly ignited his hands and arms with fire— 

Reacting instantly, Setsuna slipped to the side of him, the boy too dazed to track her. In perhaps the most horrific example of poor sportsmanship I’d ever seen in my life, she violated every sound close-combat practice I’d ever been taught in order to launch a spinning jump kick that slammed into the boy’s jaw. The distinctive sound of a fractured jaw rang out as he hit the ground, flames extinguished, and didn't stir again. 

“So,” Setsuna turned to glare ferociously at the five remaining children, “have I ‘proven’ myself yet, or would one of you like to volunteer? Oh, right, you haven’t called the fight. Until you feel like it, right? Then in that case...” she moved threateningly towards the downed boy, apparently poised to continue. 

For a moment, no one reacted — then I spun, calling Water into my hands and slamming both fists to the side, blasting one of the girls with a powerful burst of liquid that sent her tumbling back. I’d sensed her aurae spike — she’d been preparing to sucker-punch Setsuna.

I just beat her to it.

Conscious of the fact that I was sitting in the middle of four of them — though they’re only just beginning to react — I spun again, launching a weaker but more widespread jet of Water in all directions. The Fireweavers — all the boys — and Earthweaver managed to cancel it out with manifestations of their own element, and the Windweaver simply ducked underneath it. 

Four targets left. 

The dirt wall the Earthweaver threw up collapsed as Setsuna made a reappearance, smashing her fist into the temple of the Earthweaver with perhaps a little more force than strictly necessary. The girl went down hard as Setsuna kicked her away before quickly moving to join up with me. 

Three.

And then the Windweaver fled, apparently not liking her chances. 

“And then there were two,” I said quietly, watching the boys. They’re about ten meters away, giving us plenty of time to react if they attack. “Two Fireweavers...against a Waterweaver.” 

“No!” Setsuna hissed. “Not Fire—” 

She’s cut off by the two boys launching twin streams of Fire at us. I prepared to pull the water from the still-dewy grass, but Setsuna had other ideas, quickly tossing out a scroll. Water exploded from it, a small pool’s worth, and I immediately took control of it, pushing raw mana into it to claim the water as my own. Their streams of fire dissipated harmlessly against the sheer mass of liquid, and I launched it forth as a low, widespread wave of water.

One jumped, recognizing the threat. The other didn’t, and had his ankles shattered by the turbulent wave before losing his balance and getting swept away, screaming in pain. The last boy landed on the water’s surface, apparently managing to keep his balance with impressive mana control, and— 

Setsuna darted in front of me, then slammed her hands into the ground. Red planes of light materialized from her hands and underneath our feet in a wide circle, lifting us up keeping us safe from the water as a current of lightning ran through it. 

“Lightning,” she rebuked me, cringing at the backlash from her blood ward. 

I hadn’t realized there was a Lightning Aberrant in the class. Without hesitation, I sent the water on the ground away from us in a wide spray and began shifting to Wind as Setsuna let the blood ward vanish, blood smeared on her hands. It wasn’t actively dripping, so she must have unsealed some of her own blood to help serve as the medium somehow. 

Well, no matter. Now there was just one of them against the two of us. A normal, rational person would probably back out here, vendetta or not, but if I recalled correctly Lightning Aberrants were even more impulsive than Fireweavers— 

A spear of Lightning crackled between the two of us, narrowly missing as we both dodged. Thankfully, it was far slower than the real thing, even if it was quite fast nonetheless. Setsuna hurled a trio of steel throwing spikes at him, the metal trailing sealing tags behind them. Before they got anywhere near, though, a precise, jagged web of electricity sheared through the seals, rendering them useless. Frowning, she unsealed a small circular buckler made out of wood in time to absorb another lance of electricity.

“That’s rather intense,” she grimaced, “I’m not sure if anything I can do will be enough to get close without going for lethal hits. Any ideas?” 

“Yes.” I agreed, completing my transition to Wind. “I’ll hit him until he stops moving. Could I borrow that shield?”

She rolled her eyes, unsealing a slip of paper and slapping it onto the front of the shield with a burst of mana. Then she tossed it to me before jumping back in time to dodge another wide spread of electricity that raced along the ground after her. 

I crouched and rushed forward, keeping the shield behind me, as the boy sent the lightning my way. There was no way to dodge — the web was far too wide — so instead I simply flared out my Wind, my mana contesting the storm. It was far from perfect, but I correctly judged that he turned down the voltage in order to make a hit more likely. Certainly, it stung, but a quick nullification of the pain, a bit of mana forced through my body, and the minor paralysis was ignored.

The Lightning Aberrant stared for a moment, horrified, then cut off the electricity in order to charge up something a little more powerful. He was pretty fast — just under a second to launch one of those bolts — but it was too late, as I raised the shield and absorbed it before smashing it into his face. 

Surprisingly, the hard impact only knocked him down rather than out, but his concentration was disrupted as he fell onto his back. I straddled him a moment later, a punch across the face ensuring that he stayed down. 

Then I grimaced, standing up and shaking my hand out. I might have broken a finger there. I doubted anyone watching could tell, though, so with a quick burst of mana, I regenerated the injury. The burns I had were extremely mild thanks to my aurae shielding me, so they didn’t even merit healing. 

“A little too forceful,” Setsuna chastised me from behind, retrieving the shield from where I dropped it on the ground. I raised an eyebrow, then pointed at the unconscious Fireweaver who Setsuna had brutally defeated in their duel. She pouted, but didn't press the point as we looked around. Five bodies lay around us in various conditions, though none of them are dead, at least.

Wait, when did she put her shoes back on? 

“My, Yuki. You don’t know how to hold back, do you?” A heavier presence made itself known behind us, one far surpassing anything we’d dealt with here, and we turned with some trepidation. 

“Miss Koza—“ I cut myself off as she glared. 

“H-Hikaru,” I corrected myself. She smiled approvingly. 

“I’d expected some light bruises and scratches when the call for a medic at the Academy went out, not…this.” The woman glanced around at the battered bodies, poking at the Waterweaver girl with the tip of her boot. With a start, the girl jerked awake, apparently not injured enough to require any healing. Without even a dismissive glance, Hikaru ignored her and walked over to the next girl. 

“So there were guards? And they just...what, decided to watch?” I asked. 

Hikaru shrugged as she knelt down next to the Earthweaver. “The purpose of the Academy is to produce well-rounded Lunari. Those guards aren’t caretakers. They have real threats to watch out for.”

“How cold,” I said dryly without even a hint of irony. She shook her head with an amused smile on her face, channeling a bit of light pink mana to her fingertips, then prodded the girl in front of her. Her injuries instantly began healing, the wound on her skull sealing shut. 

So this was the power of the Regeneration Aberration? She didn’t even have to control it — just feeding her a bit of mana is all she needed. What an insane, unreasonable power. 

“I’m surprised you came out here,” I said, walking with her to the next victim.

“Oh, I was just passing by. As you know, the library isn’t very far away from here, and I had just dropped off a stack of books. It just so happened that I was the most qualified medic nearby, since the school medics had taken off with classes ending. Why are you here so late after class?”

“A bit of business with one of the teachers. Then we got held up by these guys,” I admitted as she healed another boy. 

“Tch. Bullies? Should’ve told me that first, I would’ve been less thorough with the healing.” 

Oh? That seemed quite a bit vindictive. 

She didn’t use her Regeneration Aberration this time, showing off her well-developed direct healing skills instead as his flesh knit itself under her extraordinarily precise manipulations.

Then, she moved with me to the leader, who seemed to have the worst injuries of them all. Hikaru shook her head at the unconscious boy.

“Hm...Lightning Aberrant?” 

Thankfully, she was facing away from me as I suppressed a flinch. How good were her sensory abilities? I should be careful to hide my Ice more thoroughly around her. 

“Yes.”

She glanced at me. “You got through that uninjured?” 

I gestured at Setsuna, my friend helping the Waterweaver get to her feet. “Her seals let me block the worst of it.” 

She raised an eyebrow, then turned her attention to the boy’s bloodied face. “That’s impressive. You must be a rather skilled combatant to come off this well against an Aberrant.” 

My mind raced. “It wasn’t so bad. I think he held back quite a bit,” I lied seamlessly. 

“Good,” she muttered. “Perhaps that’ll get him in less trouble that way.”

“Trouble?” I asked, confused, as she realigned his nose. 

“Oh, yes. Aberrants are more regulated than the rest of you kids. Him using his Aberration in a schoolyard fight...” She has a strangely sympathetic look on her face. “Without any extenuating circumstances, he’ll probably be disciplined rather severely, might even need to drop out.” 

I didn’t know about any of that! That wasn’t in any of the books I’d read! I only knew that they were monitored closely! 

“Why is his aberration so special?” 

“Because of how easy it is to kill with,” she explained. “It must be regulated. You and the other students come to the Academy to grow stronger, not to risk death unnecessarily. And for an Aberrant, this is even more true.” 

I didn’t know how to respond to that, and so stayed silent. She finished healing the boy a moment later as Setsuna helped the Waterweaver limp over, and it only took a few moments for Hikaru to heal her, too. 

“Well, I’m done,” she said brightly. Motioning for me to lean closer, she whispered into my ear so quietly I could barely make out the words:

“Hey, Yuki, that’s the girl, right?”

I lowered my voice to match. “Yes, why?”

“I’d like to take a look at her. Could you bring her over to my house in ten minutes?” 

“With her consent, sure.” 

Her eyes glittered with amusement. “Good boy.” Quietly, she whispered her address to me. “As for these people...” She surveyed the fully-healed but unconscious would-be bullies, then smiled dangerously and glanced at the Waterweaver. She’d been knocked out early in the fight and had been watching the two of us heal everyone up ever since she’d regained consciousness, apparently too petrified by the revelation of my casual relationship with a living legend to even move. “You will take care of them, won’t you?” 

Stupid she might be, but the girl knew better than to disagree with Hikaru Kozakura to her face.

“Good. Then in that case, Yuki, I shall see you later.” She took a few steps away from me, then gathered her mana and leapt right over the wall of the Academy. 

What the hell?! That’s a jump of literally hundreds of meters! The kind of force required to do that should have shattered the ground underneath her! 

I shook my head. Wind control, maybe? Either way, she’d certainly proven her ranking.

“Setsuna, can you follow me? I’ve got some things to tell you...”


	7. (1.2.3) Guardian, Part 3

#  **(1.2.3) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Guardian, Part 3**

“That explains where your interest in healing came from,” Setsuna said thoughtfully. I’d just finished explaining to her what she had missed in the library. 

I nodded. “It wasn’t something I considered at first, but I think it’ll be a useful skill later on. I don’t mind learning it, even if I don’t wind up becoming her apprentice.” 

Hikaru’s house was nearly identical to mine, unsurprisingly. Most of the housing in the Lunari districts looked about the same, since raising housing was actually something teams of Earthweavers and civilian construction workers did as part of their civic duty. 

The woman herself was waiting on the porch for us. Upon our approach, she opened the door for us, smiling.

“Please, come on in.” 

“Thank you.”

Even the inside was surprisingly plain. There were quite a few books scattered about, but there was very little in the way of personal effects. It’s almost as if...

“You don’t live here, do you?” I asked. 

Hikaru chuckled. “No. Most of my time is spent in one of the hospitals. I only use my home for research. Ah, it seems the tea is done. Please, make yourselves at home.” 

She walked over to the kitchen, leaving us to sit next to each other on a simple couch. A few moments later, she returned, bringing three stacked cups and a teapot. She settled the cups down on a short, square table in front of us, then relaxed into her own chair. 

“None of you take sugar, do you?” she asked as she poured. We shook our heads, and she handed the cups to us, immediately taking a deep sip of her own. 

I sniffed mine discreetly. Green tea, with a hint of...was that jasmine? It smelled fine, though, so I took a sip. My friend followed, apparently finding it quite palatable. 

“You wanted to see me, right? Is this about my seal system?” Setsuna spoke up. 

“Yes. I wanted to confirm some things, and also be sure that your little trick isn’t adversely affecting your ability to use mana in the future. Do you consent to a full-body, semi-invasive medical scan?

Setsuna glanced uncertainly at me. I shrugged, indicating that I wasn’t willing to choose for her.

“What’s the cost?”

“You let me perform the examination in front of Yuki. He needs to learn somehow, and this opportunity has literally fallen into our lap.”

Setsuna glanced at me uncertainly, then firmed her resolve. “Okay.” 

Hikaru nodded decisively. 

“Strip to your underwear.” 

Without even a glance at me, Setsuna began working off her clothes.

“Should…I be going…?” I asked.

“You stay,” Hikaru said sharply. “You’ll be learning how to do this as part of your studies.”

Soon enough, Setsuna was nearly unclothed, the girl adamantly refusing to look in my direction. I felt bad about watching, but it was also a firsthand look at healing, so I forced myself to put my teacup down to look closely. Hikaru ran a hand glowing with blue mana just over her body, starting at her head and working down, spending a particularly long amount of time on her head, limbs, and heart. 

“Do you feel the difference in my mana compared to what I was doing earlier, Yuki? This is driven by almost pure intent. Of course, pretty much anyone can produce this variant, because it isn’t hard, but you need the training, practice, and control to discern anything from it. It’s not like I’m getting information written down somewhere — I literally have to discern everything I need to know from the feel of my mana, and from how I can make it react with hers. That’s something you’ll need to learn if you ever want to work on anything past the skin.”

“And taking off her clothes makes it, what, easier to discern?”

“Precisely. The clothes of anyone who manipulates mana — not just a true Manaweaver — always subtly affect the reading in different ways, depending on a variety of factors. Healing is hard enough without it in the way, and if I didn’t have my Aberration to help me cheat, I wouldn’t ever risk it. Analysis is less dangerous, obviously, but you don’t want to be wrong with stuff this delicate.” 

It took a few minutes, but eventually she finished her work. 

“There’s a bit of muscle strain in your limbs from pushing yourself too hard, but you’re otherwise fine,” Hikaru mused. Her free hand glowed blue again as she ran it over the affected areas. “You’ve been...ah, I see. You’ve figured out how to use seals to force Potentia through your body? That is quite impressive for your age. Do so in moderation, however — such a thing isn’t healthy when done too much.” 

My eyes widened. So that’s what those black lines did! They’d surged physical strength through her body, essentially like a form of Reinforcement! 

“Thank you,” the sealer said, stretching her arms as she dressed herself once more. 

“Well, I’m done with you.” She turned to me. “After all, the paralytic should be kicking in at any second now.”

It took a second for us to recognize what she said. 

“Para—you—!” I realized too late that I couldn’t move my limbs. 

But I didn’t see her put anything in! Damn it! How?! She must have placed the paralytic at the bottom of one of the cups and...made sure it got to me?

“What do you want?” Setsuna asked quietly, body stiff.

“Not going to defend him?” Hikaru asked curiously. There wasn’t any malice on her face, like I’d expect—

Setsuna grimaced. “If…If I thought there was even the slightest chance of victory, I would.” 

That’s right. For all of our strength relative to our classmates, it wasn’t even a tiny drop in the bucket to the skill, experience, power, and knowledge of someone like Hikaru Kozakura, a ninth-star Lunari. Setsuna, who didn’t have the ability to instantly destroy her with a high-power attack, couldn’t kill her or meaningfully disable her if Hikaru sat there and let her do whatever she pleased. 

“Well, I’m actually just going to confirm a suspicion of mine.” She turned to me. “Sorry, but I’m not going to ask your consent to perform a full-body, semi-invasive scan. Forgive me.” With deft fingers, she worked off my shirt and placed her hand over my heart.

No! She’s going to—! 

Her hand flashed blue with mana. I desperately attempted to shove my Ice nature deep down, even trying to call my Wind to the surface, but the triumph in her eyes told me that I’d failed. 

I’d failed. 

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. I'm glad I got to you first, though — who knows what could have happened?" She glanced at Setsuna, who's nervously fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. "Does she know?” 

“Yes,” I said heavily, defeated. So this was how it ended? I should have been more careful! I should have been— 

“Is that how it is...?” Hikaru hummed, staring intently at my friend. “I see. So, you’re an Ice Aberrant, huh?” She tossed my shirt into my lap. 

Wait. Calm down! I needed to know what she wanted! If she wanted to execute me, she could do it herself easily! 

“What do you want with me? Are you planning to kill me?” 

“Eh? Why would I?” she asked curiously. 

I blinked, confused. “Standard Alunian procedure—” 

She snorted dismissively. “Like I care. They can’t make me follow them, anyways. And I’m not going to kill my future apprentice. Get dressed.” Her fingers glowed pink before she jabbed me firmly in the stomach. 

Her...future apprentice? Then...?!

With a start, I realized that I could suddenly move my limbs again. Tamping down harshly on the sudden hope that sprung up within me, I warily put on my shirt, prepared to run if necessary. 

“So what is it you want, then?” Setsuna asked. 

Hikaru smiled slightly. “Calm down, you two. I truly mean no harm at all. As I’ve said, I still very much intend on taking Yuki as an apprentice. Obviously, I can’t do that if he is dead.” 

I considered her words. 

“Then what was with all of that?” I gestured at the tea cup. 

“Would you have confessed if I asked you?” she retorted dryly. “Come now, you know exactly why I did things the way I did. Think about it.” 

Still tense, I did as she said. “You’re skilled enough to identify something unnatural about me...in the library, wasn’t it? Then you...I guess it depends on how obvious it was, but you started looking into me...it might have been mostly chance that you got called to the incident, but it might not have been. Either way, that put you into the position to get a second look, and you tricked me into coming over to test your hypothesis. But...I don’t understand, what do you get out of this? Was this really just to satiate your curiosity?” 

She nodded. “You’re mostly correct, but you didn’t answer the important questions. I paralyzed you because you would have reacted violently if I approached you in any other way, and it would have been a mess. Much better to get you isolated in my home. And isn’t it obvious what I get out of this?” She leaned back, a satisfied smile on her lips. “I’m a healer and researcher, first and foremost. Ice Aberrants are quite rare, and your regenerative factor is of great interest to me personally.” 

“So, what, you just want to cut me open a few times?” 

Another nod. “Something like that. There are some other things I want to look into as well, but that much is for personal research.” 

“And in exchange, you’ll take me on as an apprentice and keep my Aberration a secret?” 

“Oh, no. I won’t speak of your Aberration to anyone even if you turn this offer down.” She took a slow, long sip of her tea. “But I’m not the only one capable of identifying it, and being my official apprentice will grant you a lot more protection when you’re found out.” 

‘When’, she said. Not ‘if’. 

That didn’t really feel like much of a choice, but it wasn’t like I was swimming in options. Being Hikaru’s apprentice would come with a number of benefits and didn’t seem like it would be more than mildly inconveniencing. 

“While you think on that, though, I have a question for you.” She put her tea cup down. “Just why do you want to be a Lunari, hm? And please, answer truthfully and completely.”

“Huh? What does that matter?”

She sighed. “Simple. Obvious. You’ll figure it out. Just answer for now. I want to understand,” her eyes stared into mine, “what drives someone like you?” 

I took a moment to compose my thoughts. 

“Because there is nothing else left for me.” 

Still standing awkwardly to the side, Setsuna flinched, nearly imperceptibly. 

“But you could live,” Hikaru said. 

I shook my head slowly. “That would not be living.”

She studied me for a moment, then nodded sharply. “I will take you on as my apprentice.” 

“I thought it was my choice?”

She smiled. “You won’t say no.” 

“...Fine.” 

“Good,” she clapped her hands, “now that all of that’s over with — and you, you can sit down already — why don’t we talk about what you can do to avoid getting caught by someone else?”

I blinked, surprised. “Like what?”

“The most obvious is to develop a Fire affinity, but...” she trailed off. 

“I can’t. Not without a decade of work, probably.” 

She nodded, unsurprised. “Then developing your other affinities would help. You’re a Wind and Water Manaweaver, aren’t you? You’ll need to focus more on those, Wind in particular, and that will serve to mask it. Right now, you aren’t attuned enough to either.”

I blinked. “Are you implying that my Ice Affinity right now is stronger than my Wind one? I’ve been training Wind for three years!” 

She raised an eyebrow. “The typical awakening ceremony for Alune Lunari is at the end of fourth year. Aren’t you a relatively new sixth year student?” 

“I received...special authorization.”

She hummed thoughtfully. “Well, you may have been a Windweaver for three years, but you have lived with Ice your entire life. And I’m sure you haven’t just ignored it, have you?”

“I haven’t,” I admitted. “But I can’t do much with it.” 

“Well, then start with that. I estimate that you’ll be safe once you hit about the level of a third-star Windweaver, if you don’t advance in your Ice at all until then.” 

I frowned. “That...that will be a problem.” 

“How so?” 

“Because my Ice will continue to grow with or without my consent.”

And that’s really the crux of my problem. No matter how much control I wrested away from my aberration, it was a critical part of me. And as I grew, so shall it. Training my Wind would train my own innate power, and that would, in turn, empower my Ice. That was one of the main differences between aberrants and basic affinities — aberrations were completely natural, a default state. It was impossible to keep it away forever, and I didn’t have the control for it even if it was possible. 

“Hm...specifically, how does it influence your mental state?”

I winced. “Significant emotional detachment and very high resistance to pain. But,” I glanced at Setsuna, “recently, I’ve been able to feel other emotional responses. The most...the most significant one has been protectiveness.”

Hikaru caught my look, narrowing her eyes thoughtfully as Setsuna flushed slightly. “Take your shirt off again. I have an idea.” 

This time, her scan took nearly ten minutes. I closed my eyes and held still, ignoring the mildly uncomfortable sensation of her mana probing at me in a way impossible to properly describe. 

“Alright. I’m not too sure how to describe what I’m detecting, but I can sense something inside of you. It’s...I don’t think I can describe it. You’ll have to look for yourself.”

“What do you mean by ‘look’?” I asked, bewildered.

She sighed. “You’ll have to develop a Mindscape.” At my confused look, she elaborated, “It’s essentially a mental construct that you create that allows you to...have you heard of a mind palace?”

“Yes.”

“Similar concept, but less specific to memories and more broadly useful. You will need to get used to meditation.” 

I nodded. “I am. And this mindscape will allow me to look at...what, exactly?” 

Hikaru shrugged. “I don’t know how things will appear to you. But I can tell you right now that the key to your future likely lies down that path.” 

“How are you so sure?” I asked. 

She smiled thinly. “It’s how I learned to master my own aberration. You and I, Yuki, are different from everyone else. You are not the only one who has an aberration that drives the way you think.”

What would a ‘Regeneration Aberrant’ even...?

I had no idea at all. Still though, I was hardly going to dismiss the idea out of hand when I had nothing better in mind.

“Alright, so I should continue training my Wind affinity and develop a Mindscape. Anything else?” 

“It goes without saying that I’ll be your mentor for healing. The process of training for it would probably reveal your aberration to anyone else.” I winced, not having been aware of that. “I’ll try to figure out a reasonable schedule, and when you graduate from the Academy and join a team, I will take you on as a full apprentice.” 

“These plans are all well and good, I suppose, but,” I grimaced, “hiding my affinity isn’t enough. Eventually, I’ll lose myself to the insanity that affects all Ice Aberrations—”

“An insanity that is controlled by your emotions,” Hikaru cut me off sharply. “That is why I am having you develop a Mindscape. Do you understand? If you can develop a Mindscape and break open the secret to your insanity, then you can safely become an Ice Aberrant for Alune. The insanity is the reason why your kind are executed in the first place — because the sociopathy leads to the deaths of many others. Gain control over that, and there is no longer a threat from you, and you become an exception. And, if the method is repeatable, you make every single Ice Aberrant an exception.” 

I gaped, stunned. A twisted hope began to well up in me. 

“You have the potential to be very interesting, Yuki,” Hikaru said simply. “But you will not be useful to anyone if you are dead. Develop your Mindscape, unlock the secret to your emotions, learn to control them, and your worries about execution should come to an end.” 

I frowned. “It sounds so easy like that, but it’ll be anything but.” 

“Life is hard,” she retorted sardonically, “but you’ve come this far. You can do it.” 

“Thanks for the motivational speech,” I said blandly, then pause. “And...for everything else.” I add, more genuinely. 

Because now? Now, I had a plan — develop my Windweaving abilities, create a Mindscape, become a healer, and learn just what it was that makes me tick. It’s a lot more than I had before — what essentially boiled down to a sacrificial suicide, when the time came — and for the first time in a long time, I let myself think of the possible future.

She nodded, then glanced at Setsuna, who’s been sitting uncomfortably besides me. “And what of you? Yuki clearly trusts you, if you know of his aberration—”

I carefully did not react.

“—So what role do you intend to play in his life?” Hikaru finished. 

The sealer met her gaze, grey eyes alight with determination. 

“I’m going to be his partner.” 


	8. (1.2.4) Guardian, Part 4

#  **(1.2.4) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Guardian, Part 4**

The walk to class the next morning was rather quiet — my newfound partner didn’t seem inclined to break the comfortable silence between us, and I had plenty to think about. 

Yesterday, Setsuna proved herself to be rather powerful. What she lacked in direct overwhelming force she made up for in sheer versatility and a mastery over her own limited abilities. With everything Setsuna could carry around, and her incredible competency in seals, she had the potential to bring exceptional utility to a team. 

A team...I hadn’t thought about it much, but when we graduate from the Academy in a little less than two years, the best of us will be assigned to a team or work as an apprentice. What did I bring to the table? What role did I bring to a team? I never thought I’d have the time for that to really matter.

I...really had given up, I think. Even though I’d told myself earlier back in the library that I had wanted to live, I don’t think I really believed it. I hadn’t let myself plan for the future, only letting myself entertain a handful of fanciful thoughts...

But now? Now, I could. What I brought to my future team would matter.

I frowned thoughtfully, staring at Setsuna.

Besides her incredible ability with seals, she’s capable of a specialist sealing skill called printing — creating seals with nothing but her mana. The ability to do so implied years of practice — the ability to visualize a seal with absolutely perfect detail, the mental clarity needed to express its intent, and the precision to manifest it with nothing more than pure mana...

Setsuna did it so easily. That’s how she stunned the boy in her duel — she sealed away her shoes, used her  _ feet _ to print the seal, and baited him into it. 

The amount of skill — the amount of practice — that something like that must take is extraordinary. And Setsuna is capable of it at her young age. Forget gifted — she must be a prodigy. 

“Is everything okay?” she asked, looking a bit nervous. 

Utility, huh? Her weaknesses were powerful opponents who could bypass her explosives and traps and break past her defenses. 

What could I do to complement that?

“Yes,” I replied absentmindedly, “I was just thinking about the future...”

_... _

A few days later, I received a simple note in the mail. It’s unsigned, and simply read ‘come over’. 

Leaving Setsuna at home, I headed over to Hikaru’s house and knocked on the door. She let me in a few seconds later, an approving smile on her face. She’d prepared tea again, which I regarded suspiciously before shrugging and taking a sip. 

It tasted fine, at least. I put the porcelain cup down on the small table separating us, being sure to avoid damaging one of the half-dozen scrolls resting on it. 

“We have much to do this evening,” she said without preamble. “After I go over your homework, I will be teaching you the basics of proper meditation — a deep trance, not the shallow trance useful for basic manasensing.”

I nodded. “Is it anything like awakening an element?”

She smiled. “Something like that. As you’ve awakened two, now, you shouldn’t find it so hard.”

Awakening essentially boiled down to growing in touch with the world enough to complete the transition from a neutral state to the element of choice. The final step was something like ‘communing with the element’ — I awakened Water while submerged in a waterfall pool. It’s a complicated process that dealt a lot with one’s mental state — thankfully, I was attuned quite closely to Water as a result of my aberration, or I might have drowned. Wind, on the other hand, took rather more work.

“I won’t have to throw myself off a cliff for this, will I?” I asked. 

She shook her head in disbelief. “Who the hell taught you?” 

I shrugged. “I don’t remember now.”

Hikaru raised an eyebrow, but let the topic go. “Well, no, you will not have to risk death for this. I’m afraid, actually, that meditation is rather boring.” 

I smiled sardonically. “A welcome change of pace. What do I have to do?” 

“We’re not starting quite yet, but it’ll be quite simple. There was a relaxant in the tea, so it shouldn’t be too hard for you to slip into a trance.” 

I send her a disgruntled look. 

“You really should get into the habit of checking,” she said lightly, clearly amused, “even when it’s someone you know. What if someone had poisoned my supplies?” 

“And how do I do that?” I asked. 

She raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t learned yet? Waterweavers specialize in clearing drinks and Windweavers specialize in clearing the air. And healers can cleanse the toxins even if it gets within them. As you are or will be all three, I expect you to study up on both using and countering poisons. And speaking of which,” she took a scroll from the table and tossed it to me, “here’s your first set. Four books, on exactly the topic I just mentioned. One’s a general primer, one’s for Waterweavers, one’s for...you get the idea, don’t you?”

I nodded. “My ‘first’ set?”

She smirked. “Of six.”

“Are they all as...expansive as this one?” 

Her smirk grew. “This is the smallest.”

“I see.”

“You shouldn’t be surprised,” she chastised me. “I am first and foremost a researcher. As a result, my dear apprentice, you will be doing quite a lot of reading.” 

I smiled ruefully. It wasn’t that long ago I’d told myself I wasn’t afraid to learn, was it...? 

...

“Etheria is ‘life energy’, certainly, but one can also think about it as the ‘manifestation of the soul’. In other words, when you run out of Etheria, you have extinguished yourself. As for what exactly it is, you should have already learned about two concepts that make that clear — Potentia and Psychia,” Hikaru lectured me. “Now, Yuki, what are those again?” 

“Potentia is the physical prong of mana — the power. Psychia is the spiritual prong of mana — the intent.”

“Good. During your meditation sessions, one of your side objectives is to grow familiar enough with your own body to detect your Etheria. And from there, you will learn to manipulate it.” 

“For the purposes of indirect healing?” I asked. 

“No,” she chastised me sternly. “I don’t ever want you to use Indirect Healing if we can avoid it. That drains directly from your Etheria, which both weakens you and shortens your lifespan.” 

I blinked, surprised. “It weakens you?” 

Hikaru frowned. “They didn’t explain in the Academy?”

I shook my head. “I learned almost nothing in the Academy about Etheria. What little I know is from you and your book, ‘ _ A Practical Introduction to the Nature of Etheria’ _ .”

She clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “Well, allow me to fill the gaps in your education. Potentia and Psychia — cumulatively what you understand as your mana — are both based directly off of your Etheria. So if you expend your Etheria—”

“Your mana grows weaker.” I concluded, dismayed.

“Right,” she nodded. “These next two scrolls contain a list of books regarding everything we’ve just talked about.” She tosses them at me. 

...

The other three scrolls held books regarding healing, anatomy, and the other sciences, respectively. It was an incredibly expansive introduction to what I realized was going to be an extremely intensive apprenticeship. 

But still, I couldn’t help but notice— 

“These are defensive skills for the most part, aren’t they?” I asked, frowning. 

“Yep. Is that a problem?”

I shook my head. “I just...I would have thought that I would be learning a more balanced portfolio of skills, I suppose.”

“I have poisoned you twice in two days,” Hikaru revealed curtly. “Being a Lunari is a lot more than how hard you can hit, or how much knowledge you have of tactics and strategy, or how many people you can kill — none of that matters if you can’t detect a trap, defuse a fight, or convince someone of something. Even something as simple as telling a joke in the right circumstances can take you a long way. There are many so-called ‘lesser’ skills that you severely lack in, and without those, you will only ever be, at best, a meat shield. If you want to properly protect anyone, then you will need those skills.” 

She leaned over, clasping my shoulder. “I will teach you, Yuki,” she said, voice growing a little warmer, “and I won’t leave you unable to defend yourself. But you will learn how to be a Lunari from me, and not just a fighter.”

I nodded. “I understand.”

She leaned back, clapping her hands. “Now that all of that is taken care of — oh, by the way, I expect you to have that done in a month or so—”

My jaw dropped. That’s over a book per day!

“—we can get to meditation now, yes?” She smiled at my dumbfounded expression. “You already have experience falling into a trance, so I shouldn’t need to go over it. If we’re lucky, you may even make some progress on establishing your Mindscape today.” 

Some research over the last few days gave me a better grasp of the idea. In essence, the Mindscape was a powerful mental construct that enables total perfect recall, split thought streams, and other things, though my source didn’t specify just what — but just those two things alone made it worthwhile to develop even if I didn’t need it to gain control over my aberration. 

I nodded. “I had some time in the library to go over the concept, but I don’t have the security clearance to learn about it in anything but the vaguest of terms. Why is that?”

“Because at your age, there’s more important things for you to focus on.” she answered. “Most of the stuff in the library available to you are simple things — physical combat and forms, basic theory, elemental theory for the more precocious children, history and tactics, and general knowledge. Low-level stuff, even for the more specific topics. That changes when you graduate, and at the other important milestones, but it’s designed so that you’re able to focus on the most practical information. A Mindscape is incredibly useful, but takes an exceptional force of will to truly master and a great deal of study. You don’t need it as an Academy student.” 

I hummed thoughtfully. “But what about the Seal Compendiums? Those are hardly simple.” 

Hikaru smiled. “Good catch. You are aware, of course, that quality sealers are an asset to the village?”

I nodded. Using a special variant of seal printing, sealers could quickly produce the common seals that many Lunari used as equipment, such as storage and explosive seals. They were also a requirement for miscellaneous tasks and upkeep, such as the creation of the lamps that light the streets and many homes.

“Well, the Seal Compendiums are placed to catch any particularly gifted sealers. You have familiarity with them, I assume, based on your knowledge of them. How far did you get?” 

“I made it to the fourth one, but couldn’t open the fifth. That was about three years ago.” To unseal a Seal Compendium, you needed to etch a customized seal on the front of the cover that used information gotten from the last. 

She looked surprised. “Impressive. Anyways, like I said, the Seal Compendiums are placed to catch gifted sealers. Typically, any student who can open the eighth book will meet that requirement.”

I nodded. “I wonder how far Setsuna got...”

Hikaru smiled. “I pulled her file the night after we met in the library. I’d wondered just what qualified a non-User to enter the Academy. You see, your little friend...well, she completed the entire series two years ago.”

For a moment, I forgot how to breathe. 

I’d thought before that the sealer was a prodigy, but I hadn’t properly appreciated just what that meant. But then wouldn’t Setsuna have been approached to shift away from being a Lunari? Talented sealers were usually pushed away from that risky career choice in favor of a relatively safer, more stable path. 

“Anyways, enough about that,” Hikaru interjected. “Like I said, the Mindscape is a powerful tool but a complex one, and hard to develop. You’re rather younger than most starts, but I suspect that your aberration will be both a blessing and a curse. You’ll find it easier to slip into the trance, I imagine, but finding what you’re looking for will probably be harder. Expect a lot of fruitless searching at first.” 

I sighed. “I figured as much.”

She shrugged, clearly unsympathetic. “There’s nothing to do but go for it. Close your eyes, relax, and fall into your trance.”

I did as she said. 

...

...

...

“Welcome back.” Setsuna greeted me as I opened the door, looking up from a seal array she’d spread out over the kitchen table. “How did it go?”

I grimaced. “Very well, except for the meditation.”

She frowned. “Are you struggling with the trance?”

I shook my head. “Oh, no. It’s very, very easy for me to slip into a trance. The problem is what comes after. I’m supposed to begin developing something called a ‘mind palace’, but I’m struggling with visualization. The process of it pulls me out of my trance.”

Setsuna nodded sagely. “Then all you can do is practice, right?”

“Yeah, Hikaru said the same thing...” I agreed moodily. 

She stood up and moved closer to me, patting me briefly on the shoulder. “You can do it.” 

For some reason, I felt a bit better.

A few minutes later, I was standing under the running shower, cold water dripping off of me.

A protector. I’m going to be a protector. 

The thought didn’t bother me like it did earlier. I understood where Hikaru was coming from — understood that the lesson was probably one she’s learned the hard way — and I’m not so arrogant as to dismiss that wisdom out of hand. And there’s nothing that said I couldn’t train up my offensive abilities by myself, either. 

But her other lesson echoed in my head — that of the role of a Lunari being more than just a simple fighter. First and foremost, we’re protectors — of the innocent, and of those who chose not to fight, and of those who should not fight, whether through weakness of mind, or body, or...

And it was then that my thoughts drifted to someone else...

...

There was less than two years left before we would be thrown out into the real world. That thought drove me to pull aside one of my classmates during the next day’s lunch period.

“You wanted to talk to me?” Kaede asked me. Setsuna had acquiesced to my request for some privacy with the blonde, leaving us alone on the rooftop. 

“Yes. Why do you want to be a Lunari?” 

“Huh?” the girl frowned, taken by surprise, “I...I don’t really know.”

I nodded. “How about your dream? What do you want to do?”

She looked pensive, taking a few moments to think about her answer. “I...Honestly, I don’t know what I want to do, but I know that I don’t want to fight or do missions or anything like that. I don’t even really want to leave the village. I just...my dad was a Lunari. And I...I wanted to follow in his footsteps. I love my mom, but I don’t want to be a store clerk, either.”

‘Was’ a Lunari? Did he die?

“Why do you want to know?” 

“Because at the rate you are going, you are going to die,” I said bluntly. She flinched. “You don’t have any resolve to actually be a Lunari, do you? And you don’t have the mindset, either. I’ve watched for over a year — your Wind progress has been slow, but your academics are sound and your general control is quite good. You aren’t untalented, but you’re not really, truly trying. Am I wrong?”

“I — what makes you say that?” she stammered, caught off guard. 

“Because Sayaka was the same way,” I told her, “and had you been trying, you would have beaten her. She hasn’t put serious effort into her power dueling with you because you didn’t push her. She only tried because she was determined to beat me, not because she wanted to get better — and that’s why I beat her.”

She didn’t appear to be taking offense, so I continued.

“And that’s why I’m worried about you, Kaede,” I said. “You are far too nice for this lifestyle, and it would be a tremendous waste if you threw your life away for this when you don’t even really want it. You seem like a really good person, and there aren’t too many of those. Even if you don’t want to do what your mom does, you can still find your own path, but you can’t do that if you’re dead.” 

For a few moments, we stood there in silence as the blonde pondered my words. Eventually, though, she sighed, exhaustion clear on her face. “You’re the second person to tell me something like that, you know? At first, I was upset about it...but now?” she looks away moodily, “I guess...” 

“I’m not trying to scare you...much.” I said. “It’s not really my business if you want to keep trying. But if you don’t truly want to be a Lunari, you shouldn’t. Fighting without resolve is just assisted suicide.” 

She laughed a little sadly. “Thank you, Yuki. I will...take your words under advisement.” 

I nodded. “That’s all I ask.” 

...

The next morning, Sayaka ran up to Setsuna and I as we walked to the Academy.

“Kaede quit,” she announced without any fanfare. 

I inclined my head. “Good.”

The blunette smiled sadly. “It was for the best, wasn’t it?” 

Ah. Then that first person had been— 

“You told her too, didn’t you?” 

“That she should drop out? Yeah. A few days ago, actually.” 

I’d thought so. 

_... _

That evening, I thought about what I wanted. 

Many three-man teams were built around a simple concept — the Spear, Shield, and Sword. Offense, Defense, and Utility. It was a balanced group that leveraged everyone’s skills differently. 

Setsuna was blatantly the Sword. She had excellent utility with her seals and the ability to leverage them for maximum value. The Spear was someone with overwhelming power and speed — neither of us fit that role. But there was one role that I fit well...

I stared at the sealer’s sleeping face, her hand in mine. 

My friend. My partner. It hadn’t been that long since I first met her, but I already feel like I can trust her. It was because of her that I threw aside the status quo in the Academy, and through her that I met Hikaru, and through her that I realized that maybe a future wasn’t as unreachable as I had thought.

I owed her my life. 

My thumb gently brushed the underside of her palm. 

I owed her my hope. 

How ironic. I’d moved with the intent of saving her, but she was the one who was saving me. 

All I had to do now...was pay her back. 

“I’m going to be your Shield.” 


	9. (1.3.1) Actualization, Part 1

#  **(1.3.1) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Actualization, Part 1**

Time passed quickly. Setsuna and I hurled ourselves into training and growing stronger, pushing our limits day after day. At night, we studied together, the sealer electing to develop her own Mindscape alongside me.

After nearly nine months, I completed my basic visualization and managed to focus my will enough to create an avatar, a mental construct that allowed me to interact with and ‘move around’ in my growing Mindscape. With it, I began the process of storing and cataloging my memories. 

That took most of my summer break. 

...

**[Academy Year 7, Month 1 of 10]**

...

“Good, Yuki,” Hikaru said approvingly, “keep it up for as long as you can.” 

I grimaced, but didn’t reply. As part of her research into Aberrations and mana theory as well as my own progress on my control over my Ice, Hikaru regularly tested my ability to suppress it. One of the ways that she did this was by impaling me with various sharp implements.

So, a few days after the beginning of my seventh year, I found myself seated on the chair in her living room, staring at the knife impaling my hand to the table. It didn’t bleed too much, though — she carved right through the bone by infusing the blade with mana and avoided the larger blood vessels. 

“Sharply dampened pain response, even to moderately severe injury,” she muttered, writing into a small, seal-secured notebook. Then she looked up, surprised. “Are you still looking at it?”

I glanced up. “Yes. Why?”

“Distorted mindset,” she mumbled instead, adding to her notes. I frowned, but didn’t contest her comment. 

“I’m going to pull it out now.” She put the notebook down, then held my impaled hand down before swiftly drawing the blade out with her other hand. “Good. No signs of regeneration, not that I can see,” Hikaru said, satisfied. “You’ve made a lot of progress controlling it. You can go ahead and heal it, now.” 

I nodded, doing as she said. “The Mindscape helped a lot. I’ve been able to tie my emotional state to my Ice Aberration.”

She raised an eyebrow, putting the book down. “Really? How does that work?”

I smiled. “I call it the Veil.” 

“Explain.”

The Veil was a hazy wall in my Mindscape that served as another visual crutch, just like the avatar. Though I couldn’t directly manipulate it, I knew from experimentation that whenever I pushed my feelings away, it was denser. 

“So the less you are feeling, the more powerful your Ice manipulation is,” Hikaru said thoughtfully. 

“Yes,” I agreed, “and the Veil allows me to visualize my level of control, though I haven’t figured out how to actively manipulate it. It doesn’t interact with my avatar at all, it seems.” 

Hikaru frowned. “If the Veil is just a visualization of your control over your Aberration, you should be able to manipulate it just by willing it to.” 

I leveled a deadpan look at her. “I’ve tried.” 

“Try harder.” She raised a hand, cutting off my retort. “After all, it should be tied to your mental state. But perhaps some kind of trigger might be helpful. You may need to...ah, why don’t you try asking your partner for help?” 

“Setsuna?” I asked, surprised. “I suppose I could. But why?”

She smiled secretively. “Just a thought.” 

...

“Setsuna, do you have a moment?” 

The sealer looked up from her book. “Of course. What do you need from me?” 

“I need to consult with you about my...” I trailed off. Her eyes widened, and she put the book down before moving closer, settling down next to me on the couch. 

Briefly, I summed up everything of relevance, including Hikaru’s strange advice. Setsuna contemplated it for a second before, to my surprise, blushing slightly. 

“Did you think of something?” 

She took a deep breath, clearly steeling herself, then abruptly clambered on top of me. I stiffened, shocked, as she leaned alarmingly close, her chin resting on top of my shoulder. 

“W-W-What are you—” 

“Try now,” she mumbled. The out-of-context words confused me enough to re-engage the rest of my brain, and I instinctively did as she said, closing my eyes and sinking into a trance. Despite my jumbled emotions, it wasn’t too hard. By now, I was quite familiar with the mental state required, and although I was distracted for a while by the unfamiliar warmth of Setsuna pressing against me, I eventually managed to slip into my Mindscape and quickly began constructing my avatar. 

Soon enough, I opened my false eyes and stared up at the glimmering icy expanse of my Mindscape. It was a poor visualization though — with my situation being what it was, I was quickly bombarded by ephemeral blue streams, my own hyperactive thoughts degrading my focus. 

My ‘body’ fractured. 

Grimacing, I turned off my senses and focused, pushing away all the errant thoughts. Closing my eyes, I centered myself, pulling on the Ice I could feel surrounding me. The streams of thought vanished, pushed away by a sudden chill as my power wove through my avatar, pulling it back together. 

Now properly centered, I opened my eyes again. My Mindscape was a sharp expanse of glittering Ice for as far as I could see. Behind me, I knew, lay a house much like the one my real body is in. Stored in the basement was not a small room, though, but rather a glittering replica of the South Library, filled with crystalline bookshelves and ephemeral memories and the efforts of several months. 

That wasn’t my destination for today, though. With my hard-earned control, I floated up over the rest of my world, eventually getting high enough to see the spherical, translucent barrier that blocked it all off from the empty void of the rest of my mind.

It was a strange thing, this Veil of mine. It took me months just to think of the idea of coming out far enough to perceive it. I also didn’t know just how it worked or what exactly it did, although I had experimented enough to know that it grew more solid the more I suppressed my emotions and feelings. 

Right now, though, it was strangely lighter than usual. Presumably, that was because I was in a rather surprised state just prior to entering my Mindscape. It didn’t seem like the shock was quite enough, though, but it was something different, at least. 

...

“It helped?” Setsuna asked, smiling slightly.

“I think so.”

“Good,” she said, pleased. “If you need my help again, just say so, okay?”

...

“So that’s how it is,” Hikaru said thoughtfully. “In that case, I’ll write up a plan for you to wean off the stabilizer pill.”

The stabilizer pill was one of the two medications every Lunari-in-training took every morning. The other was the growth accelerant pill, giving my fifteen-year-old self the physique and mind of someone four years older and making me for all intents and purposes nineteen. 

“Oh, I see. The stabilizer balances out my hormones, so...” 

“Exactly. If you come off it, then it should make your emotions a little more volatile. We’ll be careful about it, though. In the meantime, I’d like to see your progress with Wind...” 

...

After about a month, I'd completely weaned off of the stabilizer, and the effects of certain suppressed hormones become evident not long after. My heart beat a little faster whenever Setsuna and I made contact, and it seemed that we touched a little more as time went on. 

I didn’t protest — it was still the best way to get my Veil to react, and I was hopeful that I’d be able to manipulate it before long — but it was still...strange.

If she minded, though, she never said a word about it. 

...

**[Academy Year 7, Month 5 of 10]**

...

A few months later, I completed the second stage of my Mindscape. Upon hearing about it, Hikaru demanded a demonstration. 

“Ready?”

I nodded, my eyes closed and a pencil held in both hands.

“Go!” 

My eyes flashed open, and my mind fragmented as my hands moved— 

“Stop!” 

Both pencils dropped to the table as I lowered my gaze. On one piece of paper was the beginnings to an explosive seal. On the other was a simplistic drawing of a tree. 

She clapped slowly. “Very good. I think that’s sufficient proof that you’ve progressed far enough to achieve twin thought-streams—”

I grimaced, clasping my head as a sharp lance of pain ripped through it, leaving behind a lingering headache. 

“—though not without consequences,” she finished, amused. “That never truly goes away, although with practice it will dull and you will be able to hold the trance for longer before the pain. So, as a general rule of thumb, you shouldn’t try to split your mind in a situation where that pain would be debilitating.” 

“I wonder about that...” I trailed off, then forcefully dulled the pain with a brief application of my mental powers. 

I’ve always had the ability to manipulate my own mind. Specifically, I’ve been able to dull unnecessary emotions or sensations, and this translated especially well to sharply lowering my already-low pain sensitivity. Numbing a headache, no matter how sharp, was within my abilities. 

“Did you just...?” she trailed off thoughtfully. “Hm...I guess that works in a pinch, but you should still be careful. You might be able to banish the pain, but the mental overstrain is still there. It’s still a muscle of sorts that you need to train.” 

I nodded. “But this means that I can use it in combat after all, right?” 

She hummed. “I...in theory. We’ll need to experiment.” 

...

Eventually, I finally managed to force the Veil open, the first step on my journey to gain complete control over my...powers... 

Warmth flooded my senses as I lost control over my Mindscape, falling out of the trance. I was always disoriented when a trance breaks, so for a moment I was paralyzed, unable to move as I took in the sensation of being held by Setsuna. The full, undiluted sensation. 

I hadn’t realized that applying my Veil — consciously or not — dampened more than just pain. So for the first time that I got to truly experience what it was like to hold my partner in my arms, her head buried in my chest. 

“Are you okay?” Setsuna whispered, correctly interpreting my sudden stiffness as proof that I’ve slipped out of the trance. 

“Y-Yes,” I stuttered, suddenly hyper-aware of just how close we were, and pulled away abruptly, my heart beating far too fast. “I think I’m — I’m good for now.” 

“Oh. Okay,” she said, looking confused. I didn’t clarify. 

...

“Come on, you have to admit...that’s pretty funny.” Hikaru choked out between laughs, an uncharacteristic grin on her face. Uncharacteristic, at least, for those lucky individuals who didn’t have the honor of being her apprentice. I’d quickly come to learn that Hikaru took at least a little pleasure in my suffering. 

“How do I fix it?” I asked as calmly as possible, nerves frazzled. 

It had been three days since I slipped the Veil. I was suddenly far too aware of a great number of inane feelings and sensations, things that I usually ignored hurt much more than I’m comfortable with, and— 

“Hahahahaha!” 

—and because I ruined my perfect control over my emotions, I wasn’t able to achieve a peaceful enough mind to bring myself deep enough in a trance to manipulate the Veil again. Not when doing so required Setsuna, and close contact with Setsuna was simply not an option. 

“Hikaru,” I glared.

“Well,” she began, eyes full of mirth, “there’s really not much you can do here except practice.” She looked thoughtful. “That, or wait until your natural instincts reassert themselves.”

I winced. My natural instincts were exactly what I wanted to avoid. “That’s not acceptable.” 

“Then you know what to do,” she said, shrugging. 

I slumped dejectedly, but there was nothing I could do about it but try my best to bear it.

...

“Is everything okay?” Setsuna cornered me in the bedroom a few days later, a frown on her delicate features. “It feels...almost like you have been avoiding me. Have I done something wrong?” 

I winced. “I haven’t been—” 

“Yuki,” she cut me off. I’ve known her for quite some time, now, certainly long enough to hear the displeasure in her voice even if her tone didn’t change. “Please.” 

And I’ve known her long enough to hear a deeper, well-hidden anxiety behind her words, too.

“It’s...humiliating.” I said slowly. She observed me patiently, waiting for me to continue. “Almost a week ago, I managed to open my Veil...and ever since then, my control over myself has been poor, at best.” 

“Are you worried about hurting me?” she asked, tilting her head to the side. 

I cringed. “Not...physically.” 

She looked confused for a moment before her eyes widened, a blush brightening her cheeks. “Oh.” 

“Yeah.”

“That’s okay.” 

“Wha—” 

Without hesitation, she moved forward, clearly intent on embracing me. I backed up, but flinched as my legs brushed the back of the bed — and she lunged forward, then, tackling me onto the mattress. 

The scent of her shampoo electrified my body, and I panicked — I scrambled away as best as I could, pushing her off to the side as gently as possible before clambering onto the bed and abruptly realizing that she’s trapped me— 

Her surprisingly strong but terribly soft hands grabbed me by the ankle a moment later. A forceful yank sent me crashing face-first onto the mattress. I rolled over, intent on escape, but she straddled me a moment later, her arms winding around me in a bear hug. 

“I trust you!” she cried out into my chest, holding tight as I struggled to break free. “I know you won’t hurt me, so trust yourself, and trust me!” 

I stilled at her words, mostly to avoid hurting her by knocking her away too hard. She took advantage of the lull in action, securing a better grip on me. 

“Idiot,” she mumbled, “we’re partners. Please don’t push me away like that.” 

At that, the fight went out of me. Hesitantly, I pet the top of her head. “I’m...sorry.” 

Her fingers gripped me tightly. It was at once a scary and exhilarating feeling — not her grip, but the reminder that I could feel the contour of her body perfectly against mine. I’ve never had thoughts like that — never wondered what Setsuna would feel like pressed up against me — and I can’t help but feel terribly filthy for it. 

With the lowering of my Veil, and with the removal of the suppressants, my body was trapped in the height of puberty. And the growth pills, to my understanding, made the hormonal fluctuations even stronger, which is why the stabilizer pills were assigned in the first place. It’s a perfect storm of unchecked emotion, and the lack of control I had over it was...terrifying. 

I meant every word I said to her — when she’s this close, I felt barely in control of myself. It’s easier to manage when I wasn’t actively thinking about her, about what she felt like and smelled like and looked like — but when we’re this close, it’s completely impossible to ignore. It’s why I had pulled away as much as I could, because Setsuna was intoxicating to my hypersensitive hormones.

Setsuna didn’t care, holding me close to her even as my fingers itched to— 

I sharply cut that thought off, ashamed of myself. 

“I’ll develop my control again, Setsuna,” I vowed softly into her apple-scented hair. “From scratch, if need be.”

“I know,” she whispered. “I trust you. I’ll help.” 

And that was how I began hugging her to me every night. Holding my sleeping partner in my arms wound up being enough to stave off the unfamiliar urges that filled me — because there was nothing, nothing at all, that could lead me to hurt her when she trusted me so damn much. 

Eventually I did regain my emotional control, and that, in turn, lead me to the mindset necessary to close my stupid Veil again. 

...

“So you can control your Veil?” Hikaru asked, looking impressed.

I grimaced. “I wouldn’t say ‘control’. But I...can adjust it, I guess.”

She smiled. “That’s a very, very good start. Now, though, you must master it. I know you’ve struggled with it so far — that is fine, though, and expected, but if you truly want to gain control over your future, you need to be able to control yourself. So don’t run away from the challenge. Understood?”

I nodded, finally understanding why she chose to take such a hands-off approach to my problem. She wanted me to learn how to cope with my true emotions. And, in time, to master them, just as I controlled my own Ice. 

“You’ve done well, Yuki,” Hikaru said proudly. 

“Thank you...Master,” I replied, the hint of a smile on my face. 

She shook her head, exasperated. “I told you to stop calling me that.”

“I could never treat my Master with any less respect than she deserves.” 

The black-haired woman sighed, amusement dancing in her eyes. Over the course of nearly twenty months, we’d developed a solid rapport with each other. Though she’d never told me, I felt as though it was because Hikaru was tired of the constant deference that people paid her. Even I’d done so, once upon a time. 

But it must have been exhausting, needing to act as an idol around everyone else, to serve as a ‘hero’ of sorts. And Hikaru didn’t seem so jaded that she would drop the act. She understood that her presence was sufficient to inspire, and rather than throw that away, she wielded it almost like a weapon, a tool to help shape the state in her own small way. 

But over time, the distance between us began to fade. Perhaps it was the way we met — it was hard to truly idolize her when the woman had paralyzed me to assuage her own curiosity. Although she’d certainly helped me plenty, I couldn’t help but keep that in the back of my mind, always wondering about her. 

I eventually came to learn that she was also a genuinely nice person, if a bit heavy-handed at times. She had to be — she dedicated far too much of her life to helping people, running constant symposiums and lectures, managing and consulting with dozens of hospitals, and immersing herself in a wide variety of research. 

No wonder she’d earned a ridiculous title like the Goddess of Mercy. 

Her status made me curious, and so I’d done my own research — apparently, not so long ago, Hikaru completely dropped off the radar. This was well before she took me on as an apprentice and before she was even known as the Goddess of Mercy, but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find any information about it. The closest I got was finding a single name. 

‘Aiko’. 

Apparently, Hikaru had a true apprentice before — not a simple mentorship, which is the kind that Sayaka and her might eventually have — but I couldn’t find anything about her at all in the few records I had the clearance to search. And there was no information at all about her childhood, other than extremely basic information. Unsurprisingly, she graduated at the top of her class and, coincidentally, also attended the South Academy. It’s like Hikaru didn’t even exist until a few years after she graduated, if it wasn’t for that extremely limited information.

That lack of information told me one thing — her background was classified information. 

Just who were you before you met me, Hikaru? 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we step off of the rails of former canon a bit but all for a good cause. Onwards!
> 
> Also, I should note that while Yuki is considered to be nineteen rather than fifteen in every way as a result of the medication, there will be no underage sex in this fiction for *either* age.


	10. (1.3.2) Actualization, Part 2

#  **(1.3.2) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Actualization, Part 2**

**[Academy Year 7, Month 7 of 10]**

It was about three months prior to graduation when something strange happened. Setsuna and I were walking into our last class when our instructor quickly pulled us both aside. 

“Please report to the Headmaster’s office after this class.” 

We nodded in agreement, perplexed.

...

“Ah, Yuki and Setsuna, isn’t it? Please, come on in and shut the door behind you.” 

The office was very plain, and looked like any other classroom save for the lack of student desks. Glancing around, I didn’t see any personal effects at all. The Headmaster himself was sitting casually on the edge of his desk, looking down at the two of us. He was an imposing black-haired man dressed in a crisp, simple suit. It was surprisingly civilian, but I wasn’t blind to the almost violent sense of power that I could feel lying underneath his skin. 

Behind me, Setsuna shut the door, trapping us in here with him. 

“What did you need from us, sir?” I asked politely, trying to read him. His analytical gaze gave away nothing, though, even as I schooled my own expression to hide my own anxiety. It was a bit challenging, though, since I’d lowered my Veil as much as possible. It was supposed to help further hide my Aberration, but it made it harder for me to hide my emotions as much as I was accustomed to. 

“You two are quite the interesting pair,” he mused, almost to himself. “Yuki of Alune, second in your year. One of only three students in the roster to bother developing a dual affinity...Wind and Water, if I’m not mistaken? How is that secondary affinity coming along?”

My mind raced, looking for hidden traps. “It is...well enough, sir. I have been focusing on my Wind affinity as my primary, though.” 

He nodded. “Indeed. Well, no matter. By all accounts, you are doing just fine in both elements, at least.” His gaze slid over to the girl next to me. “And you, Setsuna Tsuri...a false Manaweaver, aren’t you? Our little sealing prodigy. Eighth in your year out of fifty...how remarkable for someone who by all means shouldn’t even be here,” he said matter-of-factly. 

“T-Thank you?” Setsuna said uncertainly. 

He smiled. It was not a kind smile. “It was very interesting to me how quickly you two bonded. You, Yuki, by all reports were a very anti-social individual with only a handful of acquaintances and perhaps one friend until she transferred in. And now the two of you are inseparable, almost since the very first day...” 

He trailed off expectantly, so I cut in. “We live together, sir. It’s only natural that we’re close.” 

He nodded thoughtfully. “Oh, I’m well aware. It was all so very sudden, and I dislike it when my plans are disrupted.” Abruptly, he stood in a smooth motion, facing me. My heart stuttered, a sudden feeling of anxiety swirling within me. 

“Miss Tsuri, please step to the side of the room.”

Setsuna hesitated for a fleeting moment, then did as she was told. 

“Come now, don’t look so wary.” As he spoke, he reached into the pockets of his slacks. “I’m just...curious, you see.” He slowly withdrew his hands, a metallic glint in his hands. “See? They’re just normal coins.” 

Inexplicably, my foreboding feeling grew.

“Here, catch.”

A coin was sent arcing through the air at me. Warily, I caught it, not taking my eyes off of him.

“Very good. Now, Yuki,” his smile turned malicious, “if you fail this next task I will kill Miss Tsuri.” 

My heart stopped. For a single, critical moment, I was caught completely off guard — his eyes glittered in triumph, and his hand snapped towards me. 

“Catch them all!” 

Six more coins fly towards me— 

My mind split and my body moved— 

_ OneTwoThreeFourFiveSix—  _

A second later, I staggered back as the trance ended and pain lanced through my brain, seven coins gripped tightly in my hands and my heart racing far too fast. 

“Heh heh heh!” the Headmaster laughed, returning his hands to his pockets. “You did well, boy. Miss Tsuri, you can cut your mana flow. I have no intention of harming you, and if you blow up this office I will be quite displeased.”

Setsuna relaxed a fraction. I didn’t, still wary of any other surprises. And sure enough— 

“So. Who taught you how to create a Mindscape?” 

I flinched as his smirk grew. Gritting my teeth, I closed my eyes, then split my mind once more to think. 

_ So that was his game. To throw me off with his words, and force me to...no, but if he had just wanted to test to see if I had developed a Mindscape, then why threaten Setsuna? The coin game would have sufficed — even on guard, there’s no way any normal person would have the reflexes for that. I barely managed it, and that was with my split mind.  _

_ So what did he want?  _

“Hikaru Kozakura,” I returned boldly, numbing the punishing spike of pain with my Aberration. “Headmaster, why are you testing me, and why did you bring Setsuna for it?” 

He raised an eyebrow. 

“Her, huh...?” Surprisingly, he looked rather displeased. Did he know Hikaru? It definitely wasn’t the right time to ask, though, and so I held my silence. “Well, child, as you should be well aware, you’re rather unique. You’re quite ahead of the curve when it comes to developing a Mindscape...have you taught your friend, too?” He peered at me. “You have. How successful have you been, Miss Tsuri?” 

“...I’m a bit behind him.” Setsuna admitted after a bit of hesitation. “My abilities at mental projection are generally a bit better and I’m exceptional at visualization, but I can’t split my consciousness yet.” 

“Unsurprising. Thought-split is easily the most challenging mental skill for most. Yuki here may be the youngest individual capable of it that I’ve ever seen. But you were asking me a question, weren’t you, young man?” He smiled sharply. “Consider that an aptitude test...that you’ve passed.” 

“For what?”

“You two have been selected on the basis of your teamwork and general competency to be put onto a special team.”

“A ‘special’ team?” I asked cautiously. 

“Yes. What do you two know about the Storm Aberration?” 

My eyes unfocused briefly as I searched my mind. 

_ Storm — arguably the strongest aberration. The name was reminiscent of lightning, perhaps, but it was only such in that it shocked people. It would be like calling Hikaru’s regeneration, the absolute peak of medical ability, simple healing. Storm  _ **_disintegrated_ ** _. It was a power of immense destruction, far beyond the natural elements. But it was terribly, terribly hard to control.  _

“Enough to understand the danger inherent in it,” I said cautiously. “Why do you...” 

Oh. Hadn’t I been wondering about who our Spear might be? Sword, Shield, Spear. Of course. 

“Is this team assignment a choice, or an order?” 

“How cynical.” He smiled. “It’s an order.”

I frowned. “Alright. I understand why you might want us to be together on the same team, but why choose us specifically to work with this Storm Aberrant?”

He nodded. “A fair question. You two clearly have the bond necessary in order to work together efficiently, and Setsuna has the most potential for utility that we’ve seen in decades. However, your combat abilities are comparatively low. To balance this out, you need someone of exceptional strength, and as it so happens, we have someone who can fit neatly into that mold.” 

“...Ah.”

No matter how he explained it, I understood the truth. Setsuna and I were tools to turn this Storm Aberrant into a usable weapon. Perhaps it was genuinely a coincidence, but at least I could take that as confirmation that the higher-ups didn't know of my Aberration. 

Or, maybe they did know and this was a machination to eliminate me? But then, why risk Setsuna? No, that can’t be right. They could simply expose and execute me if they had the slightest suspicion. 

“When will we meet her?” Setsuna spoke up, still looking rather wary. 

“We shall be summoning her in a few days. I’ll have your homeroom teacher let you know when. Do you have any other questions?” 

We shook our heads. 

“Well, you two are dismissed,” he said casually, waving us out. “Go on, I have things to do.”

Setsuna and I traded confused glances before doing as he said and departing as fast as we could. 

...

“Why does this keep happening to you?” Setsuna lamented, curled into my side. 

I rubbed her head. “I don’t know. At least this time it didn’t seem related to my Ice at all.”

This kind of affection between us had become easier over time. The process of training my control over my own body had given us a lot of opportunity to interact with each other, and over time, I had learned that Setsuna was actually a surprisingly affectionate person.

I...did not mind it.

“Maybe it’s my fault,” she muttered dejectedly. “You only got noticed by him because I made you stand out.”

“Maybe,” I agreed noncommittally, “but at least this way we’re guaranteed to be on the same team. I guess it worked out?”

She bit her lip anxiously. “I hope so.” 

...

_ “The Headmaster, huh?” Hikaru had muttered after I finished my explanation, sounding surprisingly moody. Apparently they’d had a bit of history — she’d recognized his description and had been rather put out. “I’ll be honest with you — I don’t know what’s going on. I’ll look into this.” _

The day after, I was leaving the school with Setsuna when the sealer flinched. I tensed, prepared for anything as she turned around with wide eyes. 

“Yuki, Miss Kozakura just entered the school.” 

I narrowed my eyes, thinking quickly. 

“I’ll meet up with you tonight?” 

She nodded quickly, and I split off from her to race back into the school. 

...

I entered the office just in time to hear the very angry voice of my Master. 

“Absolutely not!” Hikaru spat out vehemently. 

“Why not? Are you not confident in your teaching methods?” the Headmaster asked, glancing at me briefly. 

Hikaru’s eyes flashed dangerously. “He is just coming out of the Academy. I will not subject my apprentice to that girl! Especially not after what she’s done!”

They must be talking about the Stormweaver. Still, though, just what has she done to make Hikaru so angry? 

“My dear, it isn’t your choice. After all, you haven’t even blood-bound him, have you? You have no legal control over him.”

My Master snarled. “What’s your game? Why are you doing this?” 

The black-haired man crossed his arms contemptuously. “Miss Kozakura, has it ever occurred to you that the world simply does not revolve around you? This decision was made without weighing you in as a factor. I’ve merely allowed you to be involved out of professional courtesy, though had I known you would be such a child about it, I wouldn’t have bothered.” 

Killing intent began leaking out from Hikaru. I paled — her presence was far greater than anything I’ve ever felt. Not because of the quantity — while significant, it wasn’t extremely out of the ordinary — but because of the sheer  _ weight _ it carried. I slowly began to call on my Veil, drowning it out. But she regained control of herself a few moments later, spinning around angrily. She placed her hand on the door, apparently intent on letting herself out, but paused.

“If she hurts him, I’ll kill her,” Hikaru said coldly.

“Just like you killed Aiko?” the man retorted icily. 

She froze.

“...Say something like that again,  _ Headmaster,”  _ the Goddess of Mercy whispered, “and I will tear your soul from your body.” 

Her control remained absolute. Not even the slightest hint of anger left her. But it was clear to both of us that she was absolutely  **furious.**

The man didn’t reply, an impassive look on his face, and without a word, Hikaru pushed the door open, stepped out, and closed it. Very politely, even. 

“Did you need something?” the man asked, staring at the closed door thoughtfully. 

“No, sir.”

“Your placement...it is mandatory, do you understand? Consider this a long-term mission.”

_ Ah, so we’ve abandoned the pretense that I was anything but a tool.  _

“Understood. If that’s all, I’ll take my leave now.” 

If that’s the case, all I could do here was try to make the most of it. And that meant...

...

“You don’t like the Headmaster very much,” I observed, a few days after the incident. I’m back at Hikaru’s house again, another session of meditation under my belt. 

Hikaru snorted inelegantly, her face growing dark at the mention of the man. “You don’t say?”

“Why?”

She sighed heavily. “I really don’t want to talk about it. Not right now. When the time is right, perhaps.” 

I decided not to pry further. It felt like I was edging close to a line that I shouldn’t cross. 

“Yuki...you need to promise me to stay safe, alright? I’ll...I’ll find a way to get you out of this, but—” 

“Don’t.” 

“Huh—?!” 

“I...I’ll make it work, Hikaru. Please, don’t worry about this.” 

The woman grit her teeth. “Are you serious? You don’t understand—” 

“I know very well the risks,” I retorted softly, “but unless you’re willing to tell me what this Storm Aberrant did to merit your immediate disapproval, I won’t reject her out of hand.”

She shook her head. “I can’t tell you. Classified.” 

“Well, then I can’t reject her like that. And it secures my future with Setsuna—”

“A future you won’t have if you’re dead!” 

“She killed someone?” I asked, surprised.

Hikaru paled, realizing her mistake.

“...No matter. I’m a bit harder to kill.”

“This isn’t a joke, Yuki!” she hissed. 

“I know!” I replied sharply, “I know. But, Hikaru, if you had rejected me like you’re rejecting that girl right now, I would be dead. But you gave me a chance instead. I can’t — I  **won’t** spit on that now. I’m sorry, Hikaru. But I have to. I have to at least try. Because I understand what it’s like to be rejected for your simple existence. I never asked to be born like this. But now that I have been, all I can do is learn to cope with it. To live with who I am _.  _ And through pure fortune, I’ve found others who are willing to take that journey with me. People who know me and haven’t turned me away. Isn’t it my turn, now? It’s my turn to choose compassion.” 

My Master stared at me, surprise clear in her eyes. I studied her, watched the unease that passed over her. I didn’t know what the circumstances were, nor did I know who this Aiko was to her, but it was clear to me that whoever that girl was...she was important to Hikaru now. 

And that perhaps I, in some way, reminded her of that girl. 

“Go home, Yuki,” Hikaru muttered. 

“Huh?” 

“You heard me. Go home.” She rose from the couch, turning away. It was impossible for me to read the mixed emotions in her eyes. “Just...do your readings or whatever. We’ll reconvene in...in a week.” 

“I...will do, Master.” 

She walked away, deeper into her house, leaving me with my thoughts. 

It wasn’t like I really wanted this situation, either, but protesting it would get us nowhere. All we could do was live with it. 

...

“Yuki, Setsuna, please report to the Headmaster’s office tomorrow morning for special duty. You are excused from all classes tomorrow.”

“Understood, sir.” 

...

In preparation for the day, we’d gone out and purchased new clothing — I was now dressed in a grey tunic and black pants with black combat boots. The only visible weapon on me was the standard short-sword assigned to all Lunari, hooked to my hip and held by a belt. My forearms were also covered in thin black lines, the beginnings of a powerful sealing array that Setsuna designed for me. My partner was dressed very similarly, though her arms sported black leather bracers as well. 

She also wore her short-sword on her hip. At long last, we looked like proper Lunari, and not just students. It got us some strange looks as we entered the Academy, but no one gave us any trouble as we made our way down to the Headmaster’s office. 

“You ready?” I whispered to her as we approached the door.

“Stay safe,” she said softly, an acknowledgement and a reminder all in one. 

Smiling briefly at her, I secured my Veil, took a deep breath, then pushed the door open. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For returning readers from the old Spellborne (or really adventurous new ones, I guess) I've completed a short side story called Reverie! The premise is simple: Yuki wants help to figure out how to go on a date properly and turns to his friends for help. I enjoyed writing it a lot, though it was written mostly with readers who have read through Act 3/4 in mind, so it probably won't be relevant for a while. 
> 
> See you in the next chapter!
> 
> For the readers of my other side stories, here's about when I plan on returning to them and revising them:
> 
>  **Masquerade:** ?? (probably around Act 5 or so unless I get significant inspiration. I'm dedicated to finishing it, but it might be better to wait until the story catches up).  
>  **Magus/Maid and Noblesse Oblige:** Act 4-5, same reason.  
>  **Fantasia:** Before Act 2 is completed. It shouldn't be more than a few chapters.  
>  **Defiance:** Once I complete 1.3, I'm going to modernize this, add a bit more, and then condense it into one chapter.  
>  **Team Dragon:** Once I start getting into Act 2. I'll be splitting off the ending of that piece and therefore maintaining the upbeat tone of it, and that ending will become:  
>  **Song of the Caged Bird:** Officially divergent from Team Dragon. Act 5-6 because it's just *much* later.  
>  **???:** :)  
> 


	11. (1.3.3) Actualization, Part 3

#  **(1.3.3) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Actualization, Part 3**

“Ah, they’ve arrived. Please, come on in, and shut the door behind you,” the Headmaster greeted us. 

I glanced around the room as Setsuna pulled the door closed behind me. At the desk was the Headmaster, cold eyes looking over us. Standing to the side was an imposing man with short, steel grey hair and a similar eye color. He looked completely and utterly bored. 

The last person was a surprisingly tall young lady with brown hair that fell to the small of her back. Her eyes — her eyes were a deep, striking crimson unlike anything I’d ever seen before. Her aura was muted, clearly suppressed, but it still made goosebumps rise on my arms. Dressed in a pair of black shorts and a casual grey shirt, she showed off powerful limbs and a toned frame — unsurprising, considering that her Aberration lent itself exceptionally well to physical combat. She was standing next to the desk, the Headmaster keeping a healthy distance away from her. 

Perhaps the most striking difference, though, was that her skin was a browner tone than the rest of us. It wasn’t extremely unusual, but it was a distinctive physical feature nonetheless. 

“Really? Them?” she asked as she eyed me, her voice rough and skeptical.

I blamed Hikaru’s influence for what fell out from my mouth next.

“Nice to meet you too, princess,” I retorted blandly. 

The Storm girl raised an eyebrow, the ghost of a smile fluttering across her face before being suppressed by a frown. 

“I’m Yuki, and this is Setsuna Tsuri. I’m a Windweaver and a healer, and she’s a sealing expert.”

“A sealing expert, huh?” the girl said flatly, ignoring the introductions as she scrutinized my partner. “And how many prints can you do?” 

Most sealing experts could do three, at most. Printing was a time-consuming process that only experts knew how to do because of just how much time it took to memorize the seal with exacting detail. Then you had to manipulate your mana with such a fine level of control that you could produce the seal with it. Even the Mindscape could only take you so far with that level of precision. Mari probably expected her to say that she couldn’t do any. 

Setsuna looked at her square in the eye. “Seven.” 

Even the adults reacted minutely as she laid claim to a ridiculous number. The Aberrant looked blatantly surprised, shock clear on her features. 

“How?” she whispered. Setsuna smiled, satisfied. 

“Now that we’re all acquainted with each other,” the Headmaster said dryly, “allow me to talk about why we’re all here.” He gestured towards the other man in the room. “This is the man that shall be your handler.” 

The man nodded shortly. “Takeshi Katsuo, Steel Aberrant of Alune.” 

Setsuna started in surprise, a small sound of understanding passing her lips before she dropped one arm to her side meaningfully. 

[Steel. Storm,] she tapped out, using the code we’d developed by ourselves shortly after creating our Mindscapes. It was a relatively simple one, and slow, but it was easy to memorize with the Mindscape and had proven its use since then as a simple, discreet form of communication. 

I split my mind, thinking. 

_ Huh? Oh! He was picked because his element might be able to counter hers? Which means...he might be uniquely placed to handle her after all.  _

It raised a different question for me, though. I numbed the burst of pain splitting my mind caused with a minor application of my Ice powers, continuing to think. 

_ There were two main roads to growth as a Lunari. Joining a team out of the Academy — three students, one handler, with the handler eventually leaving the group once they hit a certain competency point — or apprenticeship, which I could do with Hikaru if it wouldn’t mean leaving Setsuna behind. With his skills apparently uniquely capable of negating her powers, why didn’t he apprentice her?  _

_ Is it that he couldn’t, or that he wouldn’t?  _

“We’re here to discuss Marisa’s special circumstances,” the Headmaster continued. “As you should all know, she is a Storm Aberrant — the first we’ve had in about two decades. As such, particular consideration must be put into—” 

‘Marisa’? I frowned, looking at the tall girl. The name doesn’t really seem to fit her, and judging by the flicker of irritation that passed across her features, she seemed to agree. 

“—In conclusion, we will be testing your compatibility as a team through a team bonding exercise or two.”

She didn’t look pleased by this. 

“Exactly what will we be doing?” I asked curiously. 

The Headmaster shrugged, gesturing to the grey-haired man. 

“Follow me,” Katsuo said shortly before turning and exiting the room. ‘Marisa’ followed after him, a blank look on her face.

Setsuna and I glanced at each other, then followed them both. We’re taken through the school, then out of the building. Setsuna frowned, then turned her head upwards. Following her gaze, we saw Hikaru standing on the walls of the Academy, arms crossed. I closed my eyes, then reopened them with mana flowing through them. 

She looked...less than happy. She must know I’m looking at her, though, because her lips moved— 

“Be safe.”

I nodded at her to show that I received her message. She seemed to sigh, then turned around and leapt off the wall, letting Wind currents take her high into the air.

This caught Marisa’s attention. “Who’s that?” she asked, directing the question at the older man. 

The Steel Aberrant glanced up at my departing Master. “...A worrywart, I think.” 

Did they know each other...? 

...

We’re led to a training ground a fair distance away from the South Academy. It was one I’d been to a few times with Setsuna to practice some survival skills — a sprawling space of land split into nine sections, with a massive forest making up the entire center section and then some. It was to one of the outer sections, mostly fields with a little bit of forest, that we arrived at.

He stopped abruptly in the center of the field, not facing the three of us. 

“I have no interest in training any of you,” our handler announced, “not with the way you three currently are.” He turned around, a severe look on his face. “I was contracted to train a team, but only two of you are a team. You—” He glanced at Marisa, “you are a problem.” 

The Storm Aberrant glared, but didn't speak. 

“Now I’m stuck figuring out what to do with you three. To be frank, I work only with professionals. Teamwork isn’t a problem I’m...equipped to solve,” his mouth formed a thin line, “as you might have guessed.” 

Although I had never heard of a Steel Aberrant — I think I recall a ‘metal’ aberration, though — I could certainly guess. He might even have problems similar to my own. 

“Firstly, though, let us introduce ourselves properly to each other. I am Takeshi Katsuo. You will call me ‘Katsuo’ or ‘sir’. I am a Steel Aberrant and eighth-star Lunari. My specializations are healing, close combat, and battlefield sealing.” 

My eyes widened. Underneath Alune’s ranking system, based on a star level from one to nine, that would put him as an elite Lunari. Anything seventh or above would fall under that classification, with fourth-star being essentially ‘average’. You needed to be a seventh-star Lunari in order to qualify as a handler, so I didn’t expect him to be weak, but...

Next to me, Setsuna looked interested. I wasn’t surprised — though I didn’t know exactly what ‘battlefield sealing’ was, it was something that would probably be very useful for her to develop.

“How about you next?” He gestured at the Storm Aberrant.

“Mari Aono,” she said curtly, “fourth-star Lunari. I’m good at killing people.” 

That name did sound more fitting. Although her cold description of her strengths was a bit jarring, it wasn’t hard to guess her specialities — close range combat. 

“And you?” he motioned to me.

“Yuki of Alune,” I greeted, trying my best to be cordial. “I am primarily a Windweaver, as well as a healer. My strengths are in mid-range and defensive combat.” 

“Defensive combat,” Mari muttered under her breath, “as a Wind specialist?” 

I carefully didn’t react. Although the words sounded derisive, she seemed a bit curious instead — perhaps Setsuna’s assertion of her own skill has made her wary of what I might bring to bear, too. Good — if she overestimated me, it might make her more amenable to us. 

“And you?”

“Setsuna Tsuri,” my partner said softly, “sealing specialist and sensor.” 

The latter trait was something that the girl could claim despite not having true sensory abilities — her ability to perceive mana was incredible. It came with not having much mana — since she must squeeze every single drop out for maximum efficiency, she had extreme control over what little she had. This, in turn, led to her becoming sensitive to Manaweavers. It’s why she could detect Hikaru with so much ease, even from a distance. 

“Well, now that we know each other’s names, I’ll leave you to it,” Katsuo announced. 

“Huh?”

“You heard me,” he said, already walking away. “I’ll be back in half an hour or so, if I remember. Learn to get along in the meantime. I don’t know why the hell that senile old bastard thought I would be...” 

We stared, dumbfounded, as the man left, cursing the Headmaster under his breath. Eventually, though, someone broke the silence.

“This is stupid,” Mari scowled. “I’m leaving. You guys can do whatever you want.” 

“What?” I interjected. “That would be beyond pointless. You’re the one we’re supposed to be learning to get along with.” 

“I don’t care,” she said as she started walking away in the direction of the forest. “I don’t need to be on a team, not if I have to put up with this. I’ll become an apprentice instead.” 

With a gesture, Setsuna followed as I chased after the retreating Aberrant. “Unfortunately, we’ve been tasked with this as a mission. So you can run as far as you want — we’re not going to let you go.”

She laughed darkly. “Have you forgotten just what kind of Manaweaver I am?”

Tch. She’s a Stormweaver, so if she really wanted to run, I wouldn’t be able to stop her. Then, if I can’t physically prevent her from leaving—

“No one wanted you as their apprentice, did they? That’s why you’re even bothering with this in the first place.”

She froze.

_ Checkmate. _

“Because you’re a Storm Aberration, right? Because you’re unstable, a loose cannon that no one wants to be around. No, it’s not just that. It isn’t that people are scared of what you could be — no, they’re scared of what you already are. So, Mari, who did you kill?” 

She flinched and turned around, clearly shaken. “How did you — who told you—” 

I smiled coldly. “You did, just now.”

Well, that wasn’t quite true, but she didn’t need to know that. 

“You...” I watch as her fear rapidly transforms to anger, “you should have just left me alone.”

“I would have if you hadn’t been antagonistic since the very beginning,” I said evenly. “So tell me, just what—” 

“The problem is that you are too damn weak!” she snarled, sparks dancing around her clenched fists. “I don’t want you two holding me back! I don’t want anyone weak near me!” 

My mind split. 

_ That was a contradiction, wasn’t it? I’d noticed the hints from earlier. Whoever she killed, she regretted it. I’d seen enough from her to believe that. But yet she acted this antagonistically towards us. Why? I didn’t buy her reason for a second...hm... _

“Then how can I prove my strength to you?” I asked, leaving Setsuna out of the statement. I didn’t want my partner anywhere near this girl. I could heal from an accidental injury, but she couldn’t. And although my healing under Hikaru’s instruction was sufficient now to be used on other people, I didn’t want to chance her being severely harmed.

She scoffed. “You? If you can take even three hits from me I’d be impressed.” 

I gestured for my partner to back away, glancing at her sharply to reinforce the order. She frowned nearly imperceptibly, but did as ordered. “Fine. But if you think that I’ll just be sitting there and letting you hit me, you’ve got another thing coming to you.” 

She smiled darkly, crouching down into a low stance. “You think that I need your consent to beat you into the ground?” Her eyes flickered closed as neon-blue energy began to swirl around her arms. This was her Storm — it felt far different than the tamed electricity that the Lighting Aberrant once wielded against me. This felt...primal. Despite my conviction to fight her here, a small part of me still wanted to flee.

I snuffed the feeling out, then flooded mana into my body, reinforcing it. “We’ll see.”

“I warned you.” Her eyes snapped open, one iris suddenly neon-blue. 

And then Mari disappeared from my line of sight, the ground where she was standing on shattering. I moved as fast as I could, just trying to get away, but too slowly — a crushing impact slammed into my shoulder, dislocating it and shattering the bone before sending me flying away, skidding across the ground.

_ What the FUCK was that?! If I hadn’t reinforced myself, I would have lost that arm!  _

“One,” her voice said from behind me. Startled, I drowned the pain out with my Veil, and quickly jumped to my feet, spinning around. 

_ In a single blow, my left arm was rendered completely useless. And I didn’t even know what she did! She must have hit me, but she moved so fast that I couldn’t keep track of her! _

I grimaced, ripping myself out of my thoughts, and started funneling healing mana to my arm. Mari stared impassively as bones snapped into place and tissue reformed. In thirty seconds, I was mostly healed, though it still felt rather stiff. 

Instead of funneling more of my focus into it, though, I let my innate regeneration go to work and instead brought my other arm up, sending out a wave of concussive Wind. To my dismay, though, she was easily fast enough to avoid the wide-angle attack, darting to the side before she picked up the pace, disappearing again in a blue blur— 

Once again, I couldn’t track her, but I didn’t need to. Instead, I whirled around, Wind lancing off my fingers in all directions. A harsh smack let me know that I’ve hit my target, so I stopped my spin and lashed out with my power once more, a twisting blast of Wind racing toward a temporarily-stunned Mari. 

She recovered her wits in time to narrowly avoid it, leaping away before racing forward and reappearing in front of me. As she lashed out, though, my hand clasped the sword at my hip, and I drew it, slashing out at her as I forced Wind into the blade, turning the cutting edge into something deadlier. My blade was an inch away from her skin when her palm slammed into my chest—

**Agony.**

The shock of nearly every rib in my body shattering pierced through my Veil, and I couldn’t completely suppress my cry of pain as I was sent flying back once more, sliding along the ground but managing to keep my footing. Bone fragments were piercing my right lung — thankfully, she’d aimed for the right side of my chest, so my heart was mostly undamaged. Mostly. Simply being near the impact of such a powerful, charged strike caused it to stutter, but thankfully Hikaru taught me to reinforce my organs as well. 

I grimaced, forcing healing energy into my body once again as I staggered into an upright position. 

_ What could I do? At this rate, forget winning — she might kill me entirely by accident! But I couldn’t even meaningfully track her! I managed to cut her clothes, but if that was all I could do, then... _

“Two,” she announced. “Give up now. I’m not giving you another chance after this, and I’m not taking responsibility if I kill you.”

Perhaps it was the anger of feeling helpless, or maybe it was the condescension she’s directed at me from the very beginning, but— 

“Wouldn’t be the first time, would it?”

She flinched harshly, then snarled and vanished in a haze of speed. I trusted my instincts and spun, Wind blasting off of me — this time, though, I didn’t stop after one rotation, knowing that Mari expected exactly that— 

A bolt of Storm tore through the winds and smashed into my chest. The piercing power dissipated against the sheer level of reinforcement I brought to bear, but it still left severe burns and stunned me, simultaneously hurling me back once again and cancelling out my technique. 

“Three,” I gasped out — then the sky above me was blotted out as Mari leapt into the sky, dropping a scything axe kick.

_ That would kill me if it landed! _

There was nothing I could do, though — no matter how much I suppressed the pain, I couldn’t force my body to move — and so I flooded my body with as much power as I could, hoping it would be enough to absorb enough of the blow— 

With a roar, a blast of white light slammed into Mari, hot enough to warm my burnt skin. It lasted for less than a second, but it was enough to send her flying away, leaving me to stare wide-eyed at the sudden expanse of sky above me. 

Heart pounding, I pulled tight on my Veil, drowning out the fear that kept me frozen. Back in control, I let my innate regeneration go to work, knitting together shattered bone and bleeding skin, then tilted my head sideways towards the source of the light. Setsuna stood triumphant, the remnants of some kind of print fading away into thin air, then her eyes widened as she collapsed to her knees, coughing violently.

Even from here I could see the blood that splattered the ground. 

I gritted my teeth, then flooded even more mana into my body, reinforcing my body enough for me to force myself to move. It wasn’t good for my still-healing body, but I nullified the pain and stood up, glancing to the side. 

Mari was down, but struggling to get up. If I made my way over, I could probably knock her out with ease — she’s clearly been rather hurt, and she couldn’t even get to her hands and knees. 

Instead, I made my way over to Setsuna. The poor sealer was trembling and gasping in agony, blood dripping out of her mouth. 

“What happened?” I breathed out, sinking to my knees in front of her. 

“Blew out my absorption array,” she whispered, then coughed violently. 

I see. She must have used herself as a conduit, storing as much power as she could before releasing it as pure power. It must have overloaded the seals carved into her body, though — probably because she pushed herself too far.

“Thank you,” I murmured as I rested my hands on her shoulders, assessing the damage. Her nerves were fried — until she recovered, she was definitely in no shape to manipulate any mana at all. The rest of her body had taken some damage, too, but it wasn’t beyond my capability to heal. And I had Hikaru as a back-up, if need be. 

_ She’d be okay.  _

Still, though, I couldn’t help but chastise myself. I was supposed to be the one protecting her, but instead she was the one saving me. I hadn’t expected Mari to break her own rules, nor had I expected her to go berserk and try to kill me.

I should have expected it, though. I really, really should have.

“No problem,” she said weakly, then started pushing me away. “Finish...finish what you started.”

I shook my head. 

“But—”

“No. I don’t care about this any longer.” I turned my head towards Mari. She was finally on her hands and knees, limbs shaking with exertion. Her red eyes, though, were locked firmly on the two of us. They’re no longer glowing with battle-lust, though — instead she just seemed...confused? 

“We’re done here.” 

Without another glance, I picked up my partner and carried her away from the battlefield.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are a bit different from old Spellborne canon, aren't they?


	12. (1.3.4) Actualization, Part 4

#  **(1.3.4) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Actualization, Part 4**

I sighed, gently brushing Setsuna’s bangs away from her face as she slept on the couch in our living room. She’d been asleep for most of the last two hours at my direction, leaving me free to begin healing her. It might lead to some trouble later, especially when Katsuo comes back to an empty field, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. Not when there were more pressing concerns. 

For starters, I couldn’t tell just what was going on with Setsuna’s sealing array, lacking the expertise to help her troubleshoot it. If it was ruined, would she still be able to be a Lunari? Would she still be able to manipulate mana? Inadvertently, I might have contributed to the death of her dream, and all because I was too weak.

I ground my teeth. Mari had completely outclassed me in every way possible. Power, speed, durability — by every measure I could think of, she crushed me handily in. I knew, entering that fight, that I would be weaker than her — it’s why I had looked for an opportunity to create a match with rules in my favor. She was a fourth-star Lunari, and a Storm Aberrant besides, so that kind of thinking only made sense. 

But I still hadn’t expected to feel so completely helpless. I’d planned for potentially fighting a Storm Aberrant, even — but most of that had been contingent on the assumption that I would at least be able to track her! 

_Overconfident. I was too confident—_

A knock on the door jolted me out of my thoughts. Glancing at Setsuna briefly, I patted her head one more time before standing, moving over to the door. It was most likely Katsuo, or the Headmaster, perhaps. It might even be Hikaru. Either way, I steeled myself, ready to defend my actions as need be— 

But when I opened the door, I was met with Mari instead. Flinching, I immediately moved to draw my sword — with Setsuna’s system damaged, the Blood Wards she’d set up might not prevent entry— 

“Wait! I’m not here to fight!” she hastily objected, taking a step back.

“Then what are you here for?” I asked coldly.

“I just...is she alright? Setsuna was her name, right? Is she...is she okay?” 

I narrowed my eyes. “Why would you ca—”

And I stopped. What if—? 

‘I never asked to be born like this.’

My mind split.

_She killed someone? — I’m good at killing people. — No one wants you as their apprentice, do they? — Why wouldn’t Katsuo take her as his apprentice? — Because she was a loose cannon that no one wanted to be around._

I remembered how shaken she was when I confronted her with her crime. Fear, first, for some unknown reason, then anger, anger that I’d manipulated her. She must, on some level, feel genuine remorse. 

Even her pride felt faked, almost as if...

_A front to push people away so that she didn’t hurt anyone anymore._

I certainly didn’t trust Mari, that was for sure. But perhaps I didn’t need to hate her, either — because in the end, she was at the whims of her own nature, just as how I was to mine. And perhaps she hadn’t found her Setsuna yet. So lashing out here, then, might not just be wrong — it might be completely hypocritical, and I’m not upset enough at her to ignore that particular bit of cognitive dissonance. 

“She’s...doing alright,” I said cautiously, dropping my arms back down to my sides. Drawing my sword would be pretty meaningless, anyways — if this girl wanted to cause me harm, I didn’t think I could stop her, recovered from my injuries or not. 

“Good,” Mari said quietly, “that’s...that’s good. What...what happened to her? I know I didn’t — I didn’t hit her, so what—” 

“Setsuna isn’t a true Manaweaver,” I replied simply. “She’s reliant on a sealing array that she’s designed in order to empower her own seals. When she...defended me, she released so much power that she shorted the array out. And since it’s on her own body...” I trailed off as Mari winced. “She’ll be okay, I think, but she needs rest.” 

Abruptly, she bowed. “If there’s...if there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know.” 

“Katsuo,” I answered immediately. “If he comes to find us, please take care of it.” 

She nodded fervently. “I will.”

...

Half an hour later, Setsuna’s eyes fluttered open. For a moment, she just stared at me, an uncertain expression on her face.

“Good morning,” I tried, unsure what to make of it. “Are you well?” 

“Been better,” she said slowly, before flinching. “Yuki, Mari is outside our door. The blood wards—!” 

_She can still sense mana? That’s promising._

“Don’t worry about it,” I cut her off. “Everything is taken care of, at least in regards to her. I have yet to see either Katsuo or Hikaru, though.” 

She sat up slowly, wincing. “So we’re not really in the clear, then.” 

“More or less,” I agreed, “but I wasn’t willing to leave you alone.”

She grimaced, clearly disagreeing, but let it go. “What did you mean when you said that Mari was taken care of?”

I hesitated. Setsuna narrowed her eyes. 

“I think we just got off on the wrong foot,” I eventually said, watching her expression carefully. 

“Yuki, she tried to kill you over a challenge,” the sealer replied slowly, as if speaking to a very young child. “That isn’t getting off on the wrong foot. That is insanity.”

“She’s a Storm Aberrant.”

“So?” 

“It wasn’t her choice.” 

She looked disgusted. “That doesn’t — that doesn’t change anything! Even if it’s the way she is, she...you...” Setsuna slowly trailed off, horror dawning over her features as I looked steadily at her.

“I am only this way because of you,” I said softly. “Otherwise I would most likely be in a very dark place right now. You saved me, Setsuna, from what I was, and you chose to give me the benefit of the doubt. Mari and I...are not so different.” 

“But you’re different, Yuki!” she hissed. “You had already chosen a different path for yourself, when you saved me — that isn’t something you were supposed to do, but yet—” 

“No,” I said softly, “I had already accepted it.” 

Confusion flitted across her features. “No, if you had accepted it, if you had given into your nature, then you wouldn’t have done what you did! Why risk your life for me if it wouldn’t have gotten you anything? That’s hardly an optimal course of action!” 

I smiled sadly. “You misunderstand. The reason I walked into that alleyway was because I had already accepted who I was.” 

I could tell exactly when she realized what that meant. 

_It was easy to risk a future you wouldn’t have anyways._

“You...” she whispered, “you didn’t care about your life then, did you?” 

“Of course not,” I agreed, turning away from her. “Caring about myself too much would have just led to the deaths of many others, and—” 

“He’s here!” Mari’s voice shouted through the door.

“On my way!” I called back. Before I could step forward, though, Setsuna’s hand grabbed mine from behind. 

“Do you still believe that, Yuki?” Setsuna asked, voice fragile. 

Out of sight from her, my smile turned a little more genuine. 

“Not any longer.”

She squeezed my hand once, then let it fall, a wordless request. 

“I’ll be back soon,” I said with far more confidence than I felt. 

...

Mari glanced over at me as I stepped out of the house, securely closing the door behind me. Standing just in front of her was Katsuo, the man not even bothering to look my way.

“Will she be fit for future duty?” he asked me. 

“Most likely,” I replied, though I certainly didn’t know that.

“Good,” he said, almost as an afterthought, “it would be a shame to lose that kind of talent.” 

I carefully avoided looking at Mari. 

“Report,” he suddenly ordered, still staring at me, and with a bit of shock, I realized that he was treating me as if I were the team leader.

“After your departure, we had a bit of a...disagreement,” I began delicately, the brunette next to me choking suddenly. I ignored her. “In order to resolve the disagreement, I...challenged Mari to a spar. As a result of the spar, we have resolved our differences.” 

Throughout my speech, I watched Katsuo’s expression. He didn’t react with even the faintest hint of surprise. 

“Is that so?” he asked so flatly that I couldn’t tell whether or not it was a rhetorical question. “Is that how you would describe the situation to me, Miss Aono?” 

“Sounds about right to me,” she answered, trying to keep a straight face and only somewhat succeeding. 

_Mari Aono, hm? With a full name, I might be able to search her records—_

I tore myself out of my thoughts. 

“So you would not have any problems working with her?” he asked me intently. 

I considered the question for a few seconds. “I think I would need more time to evaluate the potential of a working relationship with her, but I wouldn’t rule the possibility out,” I eventually said, Mari turning to stare at me with undisguised shock. 

“Very good,” he said, scratching his chin. “And Miss Tsuri feels the same way?”

“Yes,” I lied. 

He studied me for a while longer. “Spend the next few days getting acquainted with each other, then. Report anything unusual directly to your Headmaster. I’ll return in a couple days with further instructions.”

I blinked. “I thought we were going to go through a team bonding exercise? Or was that it?” 

“It was contingent on all parties having access to their mana,” he said flatly. 

I ruthlessly suppressed my surprise at the realization that he was far more informed than he should have been. “Understood. Then, I’ll await future orders...and ‘get acquainted’ with Mari in the meanwhile.” 

He stared at me for a long moment. “You really are her apprentice, huh...?” he muttered so softly that I almost didn’t catch the words. “Very well, then,” he said, this time more obviously speaking to me, “you shouldn’t have a hard time finding Mari should you need to.” 

Without another word, he departed, walking away from my house and leaving behind a fairly uncomfortable silence. 

_It seems that Katsuo definitely knew Hikaru — and, for some reason, wanted me to know the fact. Why?_

“What did he mean by that last bit?” I asked her. 

“Huh? Oh, you didn’t notice? We’re neighbors.” 

“...Seriously?” 

“Yup.”

“I see.” I was more than a little appalled by the fact that I hadn’t noticed that. 

“Why did you cover for me?” Mari asked, interrupting my thoughts. “You probably could have been freed of me had you just been more truthful—”

“It isn’t as if I lied, regarding what happened,” I replied. 

“So you lied about something else,” she said, catching the implication. “Ah, Setsuna probably hates me, right?” 

“Hate is a strong word.” 

“Intensely dislikes me?” 

“More appropriate, I think.” 

“You should too,” Mari said seriously, cutting off the almost playful banter.

“There really isn’t a reason to,” I disagreed. Of course, I could hardly admit that my own aberration was the reason I sympathized so much, though, so I scrambled to find a different excuse. “You aren’t unpleasant to be around when you’re not trying to kill me, and you’re very strong, much stronger than anyone else in the Academy. As far as I’m concerned, there are far worse alternatives.” 

“Safer alternatives, though,” Mari argued. 

I considered some of the classmates I was acquaintanced with. “There aren’t many people in my year that I think are strong enough to be the Spear for Setsuna and I, and I’d only trust one.” 

Sayaka had shaped up to be quite the interesting rival, though it was only somewhat recently that I had begun appreciating that. 

“Then why not go with them? Trusting me—” 

“Oh, no, I don’t trust you,” I corrected, narrowing my eyes. “That would be ridiculous. The fact of the matter is that you lost so much control in that spar, provoked or not, that you almost killed me. You would have killed me without Setsuna’s intervention, even.” 

She met my gaze. “Then why try to protect me?” 

Once again, I was forced to search for another reason. It was harder than I expected — because, ironically, Setsuna was being the logical one, and I was not. Mari was dangerous — that was undeniable. 

But, even so...

“Because it was the right thing to do,” I finally said. 

Instead of ridiculing me for that excessively naive statement, though, she just stared at me for a long moment, then nodded, expression softening.

“I would be honored to work with you,” Mari grinned.

...

“Let me get this straight...” Setsuna trailed off, an exasperated look on her face. “Not only did you not get in any trouble, you got approval from Katsuo and Mari?” 

I smiled slightly. “That does seem to be an accurate summary, yes.” 

“Unbelievable...” she muttered. “Completely unbelievable...” 

“Are you upset about it?” I asked carefully. 

She considered my question for a moment, then shook her head. “I guess I can’t be. I...will follow your lead with her, but...”

“I get it,” I said gently, and I did. “I’ll take responsibility, and I’ll make sure that you won’t get hurt from it.” 

She peered at my face. “I don’t suppose there’s any point in asking how?”

I reached out to pat her cheek. Her skin was soft and warm underneath my fingers. 

“I won’t let her,” I promised. “I won’t fail you again, Setsuna.” 

Her smile was at once soft and fragile.

“I know.”

  
  



	13. (1.3.5) Actualization, Part 5

#  **(1.3.5) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Actualization, Part 5**

As it turned out, Setsuna just needed a bit of meditation in order to get her array working again, and a few hours of carefully flowing mana through her body later, she was fine. She didn’t get away completely free, though — more often than not, I caught her wincing as she channeled mana into some seal or another. 

Thankfully, that pain had vanished by the next day — or she had just gotten much better at hiding it — but it was a grim reminder of how much worse things could have been.

And so, later that evening, I found myself knocking on Mari’s front door. 

“Who is it?” her voice asked after a minute of knocking, sounding cautious. 

“Yuki.” 

“Ah, come inside!” She opened the door, a disarmingly cheerful smile on her face. For a moment, I was thrown off guard at her obvious cheer. “What’s up?”

“We need to talk,” I said seriously, stepping inside. She didn’t seem fazed by my tone, though, simply nodding with that surprisingly carefree expression of hers. 

“Come sit down over here, then,” she directed, leading me to her living room. Her house had the exact same form as mine, though it seemed to be a lot more brighter, and...

“You have a lot of plants,” I observed as I sat down, looking at a strangely four-coloured flower in a vase. It was far from the only one, either — Mari’s house contained an exotic variety of plants I had never seen before, all of them beautiful.

“Thank you,” she said. “It’s a bit of a hobby of mine.”

She didn’t really strike me as the type, but then again, my first impression of her hadn’t been particularly amazing, either. Yet, there was a gentle smile on her face as she moved a particularly large vase off of the table so that we could properly see each other. 

“I would offer you tea, but I’m not much of a fan, so I don’t have any,” she said, not sounding especially apologetic. “Maybe...do you want water?” 

“That’s alright,” I deflected, beginning the shift to my Water affinity, “I can make my own.” 

She looked surprised. “You can?”

Ah, a safe topic. “Yes, I am a Wind and Water Manaweaver, and experienced enough in the latter for simple materialization to be easy.” 

A minor application of my mana was enough to fill my mouth with fresh water. I swallowed audibly for her sake. 

“Oh, I see. How come you didn’t say so earlier, back when you were introducing yourself?” She didn’t sound accusatory in the slightest, though, merely curious. 

I shrugged. “It’s always good to surprise people, and I thought you would respect me more if I had said that I was a...Monoweaver.” 

“Mono—? Aha, I see what you did there. And you’re a healer too, right? Sounds like a lot of work. And Setsuna’s a sealing specialist — man, never thought I’d call anyone as young as you two that — so you guys really cover a lot of bases, huh?” 

I blinked. She had a rather energetic style of conversation, and I was finding it fairly difficult to keep up. 

“What do you mean by ‘as young as you two’? How do you know how old we are?” 

“You’re in school, aren’t you? Katsuo did tell you to report to the Headmaster, didn’t he?” 

“Yes. And you’re older than us, I assume?”

She laughed. “Yeah, I haven’t been an Academy student for two years.” 

I hummed. “That doesn’t mean you’re older than us, though.” 

Her smile turned amused. “I didn’t drop out or skip any grades.” 

“Just checking,” I said, returning her smile so that she knew I was poking harmless fun at her. It was a bit of a test, too, and I was relieved to see she didn’t look the slightest bit bothered by my implication. 

“As much as I’m having fun,” she said lightly, “why did you come? Not that I’m complaining if you just came to hang out, but...” 

I nodded, growing serious. “I need to know...for lack of a better word, I need to know how to handle you if things get...out of control.”

She grimaced. “You can’t.” Realizing what that sounded like, she raised her hand, cutting me off. “It’s not a challenge — well, in a certain way it is, but — ah, look at it this way. I can’t even control myself. All I can do is to do as much as I can to avoid getting to that point in the first place.” 

“What do you mean by ‘in a certain way’?” 

“How do I...do you visualize your element in a certain way? Or associate something with it?” 

I nodded, thinking about the roaring of the Wind and the immersion of the Water. 

“You learned to harmonize with your element. That’s what Manaweaving’s all about, after all, isn’t it? Well, for me, it isn’t like that at all. I have to fight against my element in order to maintain control. It’s like...a tiger, I guess? And I’m trying to hold it down with my bare hands.”

“I’m starting to see why you have problems,” I said slowly. “And I assume the problem is greater than simply not trying hard enough.” 

Her smile turned just a bit bitter. “You assume correctly.” 

From the sounds of it, Mari didn’t need a Setsuna after all. Mari didn’t need to be saved — she needed someone she couldn’t hurt. That was a completely different conundrum. For a moment, I contemplated introducing her to Hikaru, before remembering that the woman hated her for her own reasons. 

_ I probably shouldn’t tell her about what Mari almost did to me.  _

Perhaps Katsuo was the best answer to her problem, but the man hardly seemed emotionally equipped to be of use — then again, I didn’t think that I was, either. And yesterday had certainly proven to me that she had no problem hurting me, if she was so inclined to. 

She sighed. “Now you understand why I’m so troublesome, don’t you?”

“I won’t deny it,” I replied easily. “But I told you already, didn’t I? Trying anyways is the right thing to do.” 

Once again, she didn’t chastise me for my overly optimistic outlook. Setsuna would have. Hikaru would have reamed me for such a naive statement. 

But Mari just nodded, her expression brightening a little.

“So if my powers are like a wild animal, then, instinctively, people like you and Setsuna are prey,” she continued. “Though the feeling has diminished somewhat since yesterday, it’s still there, and it will come back to be stronger, eventually.” 

“Ah, I understand,” I said, narrowing my eyes in thought, “so the best situation for you would be to be the weakest person on your team, right?” 

“Yeah, that’s exactly it. But when you’re stronger than more than a few elite Lunari, it’s impossible for that to happen.”

I paused, staring at her. “Just how much did you hold back yesterday?” 

She grinned bashfully. “It isn’t like I wasn’t trying at all, but I wasn’t really bringing my mana to bear beyond speeding myself up. If I had done much else, I would have gone through you on the first strike.”

“Ah.” 

She observed me closely, leaning forward. “You don’t seem scared.” 

“I’m not,” I said bluntly. 

“I could kill you completely by accident, you know.” 

“I’m very aware,” I agreed, “but if death scared me, I wouldn’t be a Lunari.” 

She chuckled, leaning back. “Heh, good point.” 

A peaceful silence overtook us for a moment, Mari evidently contemplating me. 

“Are you sure about this? I’ll be disappointed if you back out later,” she said, crimson eyes trained firmly on me. 

“I—” as I began to answer, we were cut off by a knock on the door. Looking annoyed, she rose to open it, but I raised a hand, stalling her. “I haven’t heard everything I need to yet, but if it was just me, there wouldn’t be a problem.”

Her eyes widened in realization. “You want to protect Setsuna.” 

“Of course,” I replied. “She means everything to me, so, Mari,” I rose, staring up into her eyes, “you will not hurt her. I don’t care what you do to me, but that is my condition.” 

She blinked, surprised. “Or what?” she asked, not sounding particularly confrontational. 

“You may be an impossibly powerful berserker, and you might not respect my strength, but I promise you that if you take her away from me, I  **will** kill you,” I said fiercely. 

And I could. I knew I could. The process of landing the hit I would need to put her down would almost certainly be lethal to me, too, but if Setsuna was gone, that wouldn’t matter anymore. 

Perhaps she sensed that confidence, because she just nodded mutely. 

“But I don’t want to do that, so please do not make me,” I finished, intentionally breaking eye contact. 

“I won’t,” Mari promised. 

...

“Setsuna?! You’re supposed to be resting right now!” I hissed.

The sealer stared defiantly at me, unmoved. Though I’d argue the point further with anyone else, I had enough of a grasp on Setsuna’s mindset by now to understand that any attempt to turn her away would be met by cold dismissal at best. At the same time, though, I understood — after all, I was just as overprotective of her. 

“May I come in?” she addressed Mari directly. 

“I don’t see why not,” the Stormweaver said agreeably. 

“Thank you,” Setsuna said, voice clipped, before returning her focus to me. After a second or so, though, her expression softened and she flicked her eyes over my shoulder. Nodding, I turned around and led the way, Mari watching us with a bemused expression.

“You guys have known each other for a while, haven’t you?” she asked as Setsuna took a seat next to me, her expression blank once more. 

“I suppose so,” I volunteered freely. “We’re not that far off from two years.” 

“That’s it?” 

“Yes?” I said, blinking. 

“Huh. You guys just seem to communicate so easily, though,” Mari said, a curious look on her face. “Are you guys...you know...together?” 

“Does that mean something besides the obvious?” I asked, confused, before Setsuna gently nudged my side. 

[Mari’s asking us if we’re in a romantic relationship,] she tapped out on her knee. 

[Oh.] 

[Why wouldn’t she just say so?] I drummed back. 

[Because it is a question that has the potential to create an awkward atmosphere, so most people use a conversation filler or an euphemism to soften it.]

[Oh. What do I say, then?]

[We’re not together,] she replied quickly before turning away abruptly, the slightest blush on her visible cheek. Mari watched us, amused. 

“We’re just very good friends,” I concluded mischievously. 

Setsuna kicked me pointedly. 

“Partners,” I corrected, smiling slightly.

“You have a fascinating relationship,” Mari said dryly. “Most people don’t need to clarify whether or not they’re dating someone.” 

I shrugged. “Would you believe that it hasn’t ever come up? Besides, I don’t have the slightest interest in that kind of thing.” 

Mari glanced at Setsuna, then back to me. “Well,” she chuckled, “you’re still young.” 

I snorted. 

_ As if. _

“Anyways, Setsuna, I owe you an apology,” Mari shifted the topic, standing up. The sealer eyed her warily. “I put your life at risk, and I nearly killed your partner. He’s forgiven me, I think,” Mari glanced over at me, and I nodded, “but that doesn’t mean you have to, and I won’t ask you to, but—” 

“I’m not as nice as Yuki is,” Setsuna interjected coolly, steel-grey eyes glaring sharply. Mari winced, but didn’t interject. I’d forgotten just how imposing my little friend could be when she was really, truly angry, and for a moment I couldn’t remember how to breathe. 

“I’m willing to let it go, though, but under one condition,” Setsuna continued. “I don’t trust you to be the leader of this team, so if you want my forgiveness, you need to prove to me that you’re able to give up control.”

The tips of Mari’s lips twitched up. “So you want me to let Yuki lead the team?” 

Setsuna shook her head sharply. “I don’t ‘want’ it. I need you to let Yuki lead the team without any exception.” 

“Deal,” Mari said breezily. I narrowed my eyes in thought, then just barely managed to suppress my amusement. 

_ Mari must have already been planning on that even before Setsuna pushed the issue. _

With a start, I realized that just about everyone involved had been treating me like the team leader already. The Headmaster had tested me, instead of Setsuna; Katsuo had told me to report, rather than Mari; and now, my two teammates have just agreed to put me in charge. 

_ Was I okay with that?  _

I blinked, mentally shaking myself. 

_ I just thought-split without intentionally — and here I was doing it again. Huh. That couldn’t be good. And that wasn’t the first time, was it?  _

“Yuki?” Setsuna asked, peering up at me. I blinked again. 

“Hey, you okay?” Mari asked, more direct. 

“It’s been a long day,” I deflected, “and I think I need to go to sleep.” 

[Need to see Hikaru. Be back later,] I tapped out. 

“Alright,” Setsuna said, a concerned frown on her face before she glanced at our possible teammate. “I guess I...can get acquainted with Mari more.” 

That’s right, she hadn’t talked to Mari nearly as much as I had by now. But— 

[I’ll be okay.]

_ But she could still read me perfectly.  _

Though I was still a bit wary, I felt as though I understood Mari enough to feel comfortable leaving Setsuna with her. Underneath that thought, though, was the realization that there wouldn’t be anything I could do if the Stormweaver truly meant us harm. Oddly enough, that was a thought that gave me surprising comfort — if it didn’t matter anyways, there wasn’t a point in worrying about it. 

“Then I’ll see you two later,” I said, rising from my seat. “I can see myself out.” 

...

“Ah, you’ve run into that problem. About time.” 

I stared at her flatly. “Do you enjoy being vague on purpose, Master?” 

Hikaru smiled lazily back at me, raising a cup of tea. “When you grow older, you’ll start to understand the value of finding joy in the small things.” 

I shook my head, exasperated. 

“Once you become familiar enough with thought-split to use it on the fly, a low enough level of control and overuse of the technique can lead to something referred to as Reverie Disorder,” she explained. “It’s a state where you’re susceptible to falling into false trances without warning. As you’ve likely noticed by now, they’re not the same as a proper mind-split — much slower, aren’t they, compared to the real thing? Not as safe? And, without control, dangerous with poor timing or luck.” 

“What’s the solution, then?”

She smiled grimly. “There isn’t a cure.” 

I paused. “What?”

“There is no cure. However,” she raised a hand to cut me off, “there is a treatment, though I can assure you that it won’t be pleasant.” 

“Can I simply ignore it?” 

“You could. I can guarantee that it’ll kill you when you space out in the midst of an emergency, though. Right now, you’re only in the early stages and you’ll only ‘drift off’, so to speak, once in a while. Ignore it and you’ll be doing it for longer times, and you won’t be able to stop. Reverie Disorder is one of the bigger reasons that the Mindscape isn’t a technique granted freely to Lunari in training, incidentally, and the technique is usually passed down only to apprentices.”

“Then why did you let me teach Setsuna?” I protested. 

Hikaru shook her head. “Because there’s zero possibility of her mastering thought-split within the next five years, or maybe even longer. It requires a severely distorted mindset in order to manage proper thought-split in any reasonable amount of time.” 

I froze. “You mean...like the kind of distorted mindset an Aberration can bring? The Headmaster knows that I can split my mind, so—” 

She levelled a flat look at me. “I know that you don’t always get to see it, but I am a literal genius, Yuki. Please trust that I wouldn’t make that kind of dumb oversight with something this important.” 

I recoiled, surprised by her unusual irritation. “Then—” 

“Trauma,” she said succinctly, “is also conducive to the kind of mindset necessary. And your files clearly indicate that possibility, so it isn’t unusual when coupled with our apprenticeship, which is classified but visible to the relevant people.”

I winced. “But what makes you think that Setsuna couldn’t have undergone trauma in her life?” 

“Oh, I don’t think that,” Hikaru said. “I’d be far more surprised if she hadn’t, with the way...well, that isn’t for me to say. But her response to that trauma was different than your response to yours.” 

“Such as?” I prompted. 

“Whatever hurt Setsuna went through in her past, she’s responded to with fire. You’ve noticed, haven’t you? There’s steel in that girl’s spine. I hardly think she’s without weakness, but surely you’ve seen it by now?” 

I think about Setsuna’s conflict with those school children all those months ago, her decision to help me with my Veil, and standing up to Mari — three times, now. 

“I have,” I agreed honestly. 

“You were not like that,” she said bluntly. 

I recoiled. “What—” 

“When I realized you were an Ice Aberrant, Yuki, you gave up,” Hikaru said softly. “You had nothing. I saw it in your eyes. Virtually anyone else would have struggled, or at least been looking for something, anything that they could do to get out of that situation. It’s just the survival instinct ingrained into every human being, and all the more so for someone like you. An Ice Aberrant, driven by logic, should be all the more desperate to survive.”

She stared at me, something unrecognizable in her eyes. “You didn’t want to survive. Your mindset was so distorted that you threw away the base human instinct to live.” 

I flinched, unable to protest. 

“You are not like that now, for which I am truly grateful for,” she continued, “but you were back then, and coupled with your Aberration, I knew you had a truly impressive potential for thought-split, and an equally large risk for Reverie Disorder. The same mindset that allows you to disassociate your consciousness so readily serves as both a good and bad thing. Do you remember how much you struggled with the focus? It’s because your mind is already so used to disassociating that maintaining the focus for a good Avatar and Mindscape is hard. And it’s that disassociation — that lack of a complete grip of reality — that makes one susceptible to Reverie Disorder. You, Yuki, were all but assured to have it, but I taught you anyways because I know you can overcome it, and the benefits of doing so vastly outweigh the work it’ll take to get there.” 

“I...” I contemplated her words for a long moment, then decided that thinking about it then was simply too much work right then and pushed them aside with a mental flex of will. “I understand, I think.” 

She nodded, lips pursed. “With that taken care of, then, why don’t we talk about treatment? It’s elegantly simple, if I might say, though you are certainly not going to like it.” 

“What is it?” 

“First of all, no Veil, and you’re not allowed to use it at all.”

I paled. “Just what are you planning?” 

“The pain response is going to be what conditions you,” she smirked, rising as she cracked her knuckles. “You will close your eyes and try to fall into a trance, and then you’ll try to stop me from punching you.” 

“Is that seriously the standard treatment?” 

Hikaru shrugged. “Do you want the standard treatment, or the one that will work?” 

I groaned, but closed my eyes.

...

“Yuki!” Setsuna greeted me at the door, taking in my appearance. “You—” 

“It’s mostly superficial,” I gasped out, nearly collapsing into her arms. She steadied me, kicked the door shut, then helped me limp over to the shower. 

“What happened to you?” 

“Reverie Disorder treatment plan,” I replied, steadying myself against the wall as she started running the water.

“You’re — you’re sick?”

“In a manner of speaking, I suppose...you could just call it involuntary daydreaming as a result of an overreliance on thought-split,” I agreed. “It’s not a problem if I take care of it now.” 

Setsuna processed that for a moment. “So what exactly is the treatment?”

“Apparently, to get beat around enough to the point where I develop such good reflexes that my state of mind doesn’t matter—” I raised my hand, catching Setsuna’s fist before it could hit my shoulder. 

“Seems like you’ve made some progress, then,” she smiled, looking up at me with a playful look in her eyes. “You used to be a lot easier to sneak up on.”

I nodded, acknowledging her point and the memories that accompanied it with a small grin.

“I’ll leave you to it,” she said softly, patting my shoulder once before turning away and leaving the bathroom. 

_ Setsuna wasn’t the only one good at reading her partner.  _

‘Take better care of yourself, won’t you?’ 

...

Under the shower, my thoughts flowed as freely as the running water.

Hikaru hadn’t wanted me to use my Veil or healing to nullify those either — something about my body remembering the pain. It was a fairly uncomfortable existence, all in all, and not for the first time, I was at least somewhat grateful for the conveniences of my aberration. They certainly would have made life a little more bearable now, but it wasn’t a bad idea to try to become less dependent on them. 

Even without resorting to those tools, though, I found it easy to slip into my thoughts. 

_ My broken mindset let me slip into a trance, huh? Or, at least, these unfocused ones, not deep enough to properly visualize my Mindscape, but shallow enough to...what, exactly? Was there anything useful I could do with Reverie Disorder?  _

My thoughts inevitably drifted off to Hikaru’s words. 

_ Did Setsuna notice how broken I was, even back then? Some of her reactions were weird back then, though at time I hadn’t understood why.  _

Hell, I hadn’t understood myself just why my thoughts were wrong. I still didn’t, but I knew enough about what I wanted now to reject them, at least. I didn’t want to die anymore — I have too much to live for. 

_ Setsuna. _

‘There’s steel in that girl’s spine,’ Hikaru had told me.

Having known her for nearly two years, I was well aware that Setsuna certainly hadn’t had an easy childhood, though I still didn’t know just what she had gone through. I’d never brought it up, and she’d been equally respectful of my own history. 

But I was still aware, just as I knew she was, and I couldn’t help but wonder nonetheless just what Setsuna’s circumstances were, for her to need to grow the way she has. 

‘I want to go to a certain place...I’ve spent a lot of my life feeling helpless, and I don’t want to feel that way anymore.’

Whatever her goal, I wanted to help her. I wanted to be with her as she did. 

‘Mari’s asking us if we’re in a romantic relationship.’

I hadn’t been lying about having never seriously thought about the idea. Even during my more hormonal phases, it had always been lust on my mind, not...romance. The idea of dating Setsuna just seemed strange to me. What would we even do? I had no idea what a romantic relationship even entailed. 

_ But the idea of spending the rest of my life with Setsuna was a nice thought. _

Bewildered, I shook myself from my thoughts and started properly cleaning myself up. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For older readers, Spellbook has been condensed into Reverie. I decided not to modernize the four chapters that I had there due to the amount of work they needed (I'd forgotten how old those were). 
> 
> For all readers, there's a new, short side story segment in Reverie called Vibrancy, featuring a character that'll be showing up very soon!


	14. (1.3.6) Actualization, Part 6

#  **(1.3.6) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Actualization, Part 6**

“I still can’t believe she was our neighbor this whole time,” I admitted as we walked to school the next day. “You think we would have noticed that.” 

Setsuna smiled slightly, taking faster steps to account for my longer stride. “You’re the only one who didn’t notice.” 

“Huh? You mean you knew?” 

She looked at me in a way that would have been patronizing if it hadn’t been Setsuna. “It would be harder for me not to sense her.”

“Well, you’ve always been better at—” 

“Heeeeey!” 

We both turned around in time to see Sayaka nearly ram into me, a grin on her face. Over the last two years, the blunette had grown a sense of discipline behind her playful attitude, but underneath that sternness was still a girl that just wanted to have some fun. She didn’t really walk us to school anymore — or me, rather, so this was an unusual occurrence. 

“So, neither of you were in class for the last two days...” she trailed off, clearly expectant as she walked on my other side. 

“Classified,” Setsuna immediately shut her down.

“Aww, come on.” 

“It’s somewhat sensitive information,” I agreed, “so we really shouldn’t tell you, but mostly because it isn’t set in stone and I’d rather not spread any rumors.” 

“Hey! I’m discreet!” Sayaka protested loudly, ironically proving just the opposite.

“Well, when we figure out what’s going on ourselves, we’ll let you know,” I said. “It shouldn’t be more than a few days.”

“Eh, fine. When you’re able to spill, you guys can come over to my house, if you like? I still owe you a power duel,” she said, gesturing at me. 

“Sure, I’m all for tossing you around the training fields.” 

“Hah, as if!” Sayaka looked past me. “Setsuna, down for a spar later on?” 

The sealer nodded. “Okay.” 

Setsuna had developed both the softer, deflective style of physical combat generally favored by women as well as the direct, harder style favored by most men. Her body shape and strengths made the former more suited to her, but her seal empowerment made her a deceptively dangerous user of the latter. Sayaka, as the strongest close-combatant we knew, was the perfect person to help her hone the former as I worked with her with the latter. 

_Mari likely outstripped all of us combined, though. Hm...that might be a good way to help us bond with her, actually..._

“...Reverie Disorder.”

“That sounds kind of cool, but I’m guessing it isn’t?” 

“Well, if he spaced out in combat...”

_Was I thinking too much about our potential team? I couldn’t let myself forget that, though we did make up, the initial outcome of us being together in the same area led to a decimated clearing, a near murder, and Setsuna collapsing._

_But even so—_

My senses registered an attack from behind, but too late as Sayaka’s foot slammed into my back, sending me stumbling. 

“Alright, I can see the problem with it,” she admitted. I turned around, glaring. 

“I’ll remember that, Sayaka.” 

Setsuna pointed past me. “You were so distracted that you walked past the school gate.” 

I blinked, then turned to look. Sure enough, she was right. 

“What the hell causes a disorder like that?” Sayaka asked, bewildered. 

“Classified,” Setsuna replied, smugly.

...

Mari was outside when we got home, and once we got within sight of her, she flagged us down. 

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“Well, no, but I was wondering if you guys wanted to grab something to eat together. I’ll pay.” 

Setsuna and I glanced at each other, then shrugged. 

“Sure,” I said. “What kind of food?” 

“It’s a barbecue place. Really good, I promise. You two will love it, or your money back.” 

I snorted.

“Sounds good to us.”

“Great! Follow me!” She darted off, forcing us to run after her. 

...

The place Mari took us to wound up being a homely, hole-in-the-wall restaurant simply named ‘South Alune BBQ’. Upon pushing open the glass doors, we’re welcomed by a middle-aged server who seemed to recognize Mari, if the fond smile she flashed was of any indication. After exchanging brief pleasantries, we were seated at a booth in the corner, Setsuna sitting across from me and Mari to my side. 

“Before you ask, everything is good,” Mari said cheerfully. “I would know. I’ve eaten it all.” 

I glanced at the menu. It wasn’t exactly that small, so she’d either been here dozens of times or ate enough food for several people at a time. Looking closer, the prices were what I gauged to be in the midrange, enough that I would hesitate to eat here more than once a month on the stipend that Setsuna and I comfortably lived on. 

_But if she’s eaten here as often as she implied — stop that!_

I winced slightly as I forced myself out of my thought-trance. Setsuna glanced at me, nearly imperceptibly, and I subtly shook my head. 

‘I’m fine.’

She tilted her head slightly, evaluating me. 

‘You sure?’ 

I smiled.

‘Yes.’ 

“Am I missing something?” Mari asked, bewildered. 

“Setsuna’s just worrying about me,” I said, and I didn’t need to look at her to know that she was staring at me with a deadpan expression. “I’m fine, though.” 

It was Mari’s turn to evaluate me then, eyes raking over me as if expecting to find something wrong. 

“You’re...not still hurt from what I did, right?” she asked tentatively. 

I actually had to think back to remember what injuries she’d dealt me. “Oh, no. I’m long healed from that.”

She eyed me thoughtfully. “Oh! Are you a Waterweaver to improve your healing?” 

Healing was one prong of four internal arts, the others being Reinforcement, Empowerment, and Acceleration. Each of them was linked to a primary element — Water, Earth, Fire, and Wind. Unsurprisingly, Mari was a powerful user of Empowerment with her Storm Aberration, and I of Healing with my Ice Aberration. 

I shook my head. “No, I was actually a certified Waterweaver well before I started learning healing.” 

“Huh? But — I thought Healing took years before it was really usable? And — wait, you couldn’t have gone to the hospital, right? You were still at home when...” 

“I’m a bit of a quick study,” I said, smirking.

“You guys aren’t really Academy students after all, are you?” she mused, her eyes flicking between us. “I should have realized, what with the way you were able to hold me off...”

“Uh, no, we’re definitely Academy students. And ‘holding you off’ is generous, all things considered...”

“No, that was a really big deal,” Mari disagreed sharply. “It...right, if you’re really Academy students, you should know how the final practical exams go, right?”

I nodded. “The instructors pick two students that they estimate to be approximately at your skill level, and have you fight them — one fight’s strictly hand-to-hand, and the other is more open. Winning is less important than how you go about the fight, though, and cheating in order to figure out who your opponent is going to be is encouraged — though actually interfering with the fight isn’t allowed.”

“Right. Well, it was the same back then for us. And when my fights came up, both of my opponents didn’t show up that day.” 

I blinked. “But then that would mean they automatically forfeit the fights.” 

“Yes. And you know what? The instructors passed both of them, because they agreed that was the smartest choice of action. My point is that I wasn’t supposed to be a match for even gifted Academy students, and that was two full years ago!”

The server came, then, and we quickly placed our orders. Once she left, Mari continued— 

“With the way my Aberration works, I grow stronger faster really, really quickly! It’s how I’m a match for even some elite Lunari in outright combat with as young as I am! For you to actually be able to hold me off under any circumstance isn’t lucky — it’s beyond unreasonable!” Mari said passionately, though she kept her voice hushed. “You successfully repelled me once after only a single previous attempt and very little information about what I could do, after having been severely wounded, and that was once more than just about everyone I’ve encountered could do!” 

I thought about her words. “Have you considered that just about everyone you’ve encountered has been stupid enough to get into a direct pissing fight with a Storm Aberrant?” 

The two girls narrowed their eyes. “Like you?” they said simultaneously, before glancing at each other, surprised. 

I shrugged. “I lost, didn’t I?” 

Mari snorted. “Well, at least there’s that. If you’d actually taken me down...” She glanced thoughtfully at Setsuna. 

The sealer shrugged. “I just shot you while you weren’t looking. Wasn’t that hard.” 

The Stormweaver laughed. “Guess so, huh? You get my point, though, don’t you? You have too many skills. Your Wind isn’t unusual, and your Water isn’t, not by itself, but then you’re also a competent Healer, and...your battlefield focus, come to think of it. I crushed your shoulder and your ribs, but that barely slowed you down.” 

_Hmm, her thoughts are a bit dangerous._

Thankfully, I had a built-in excuse for that. “Mari, are you familiar with the Mindscape?” 

She hummed. “Mindscape, mindscape...wait, no, you couldn’t have.” 

I inclined my head. 

“Seriously?” 

“I had a good mentor. Anyways, focus isn’t an issue for me, even when I’m in pain.” 

The brunette frowned, clearly thinking. “...that woman on the wall. She was obviously a Windweaver...but I couldn’t tell what else. Was that her? The one that was looking at you?” 

“Yep. You couldn’t see who it was?”

“No, who was it?”

I grinned, leaning forward. “Hikaru Kozakura.” 

Mari blanched. “You’re joking, right?” she said, a tone of surprising desperation in her words. 

“No.” 

She buried her head in her hands. “Oh...she’s going to kill me when she finds out what happened,” she whimpered. 

That sounded a bit too real. “You’ve met her before?” 

Mari didn’t move for a moment, then sprang up so suddenly that I had Wind in my fingertips before I realized she meant no harm. “Yuki, Yuki...captain. I’ll do anything. Please don’t tell her,” she begged.

My smile turned malicious. “You know she’s going to ask, don’t you? You think I’m willing to try to deflect with her? Or worse, lie?” 

She sank back into her seat, burying her head in her hands once more. “I’m so dead...” 

I stared at her, bemused. Though I’d spent some time around the quirky Stormweaver by now, it was still hard to reconcile the idea of a frenzied berserker with...this.

A gesture from Setsuna caught my eye.

[She didn’t answer the question,] she tapped out on the table. 

I shook my head, indicating that it didn’t matter. It was obvious that she had, and it was equally obvious that it was scary enough of an experience for Mari to be genuinely afraid of my mentor. There wasn’t any need to try to peel out the details from her — not when I could just ask Hikaru.

The food came, then, our server looking inquisitively at our depressed acquaintance before putting the plates down. At the sound, or perhaps the smell, Mari perked back up, apparently forgetting about her impending death. 

The food was delicious, if a bit on the saltier side, but that wasn’t a bother to me. Looking around, I could see that both of the girls were enjoying themselves, too, Setsuna in particular quietly enthusiastic. 

“Well, enough of that,” Mari said after her third plate of fried meat. “If you don’t mind, I’d love to hear more about you two.”

“Like what?” Setsuna asked. 

“What do you guys do for fun?” 

Setsuna and I exchanged bewildered glances. 

“I...read,” she volunteered. 

“Read about what?” 

“Seals.”

Mari facepalmed. “That’s not what I meant. Things like...things that aren’t related to being a Lunari. A hobby.” 

Setsuna shrugged. 

“I think we need an example,” I admitted. 

“You’re joking,” Mari said flatly, then eyed the two of us. “Or not. Well, I like to shop and eat. It’s fun to explore and look for new and interesting things...ah, I also like history.” 

_I hadn’t pegged her as a historian._

“But I don’t really like reading or cooking,” she followed up. “Alright, your turn. Setsuna, how about you go first?” 

_A historian that didn’t like to read. Huh._

Setsuna shook her head, almost apologetically. “Sorry, but I can’t think of anything.” 

Mari looked at me. 

“I can’t think of anything, either,” I said, shrugging nonchalantly even as my mind raced.

 _What...what_ **_did_ ** _Setsuna like?_

“Well, let me pay, and then if you guys don’t have anything pressing to do tonight, we could go out and look for something.” 

Setsuna and I glanced at each other again, wordlessly communicating our feelings. 

_‘Do we really need to do this?’_ An eyebrow, raised slightly.

 _‘What’s the harm?’_ A small lift of my shoulders. 

“Sure.” 

Mari went up to do exactly that, leaving my partner and I alone for a moment. 

“Why are you going along with this?” Setsuna asked softly. Apparently my answer hadn’t been sufficient.

I shrugged. “Team bonding. And she’s not entirely wrong. You could use a new hobby — or one at all.” 

“And not you?” she asked, unamused. 

I merely tapped my head in response, referencing my Ice Aberration. “Hikaru taught me that most people need some kind of way of relieving their stress.” 

“Seals,” she protested. 

“I think that your hobby was meant to be separate from your occupation,” I said dryly. 

“Fine,” she exhaled gustily. “But if I’m doing this, so are you.” 

“Sure. How hard could it be?”

Setsuna leaned forward, her eyes glittering with mischievousness. “Oh, I don’t know. What kind of interests do you have, Yuki?”

I tilted my head. “Well, I...I...” 

“What kind of interests do you have that are separate from being a Lunari, Yuki?” she asked maliciously. 

“...W-Well...”

“Come on. How hard can. It. Be?”

I narrowed my eyes at her, then thought of something. “You.” 

“What?” 

“I’m interested in knowing more about you,” I said lightly, leaning forward too. “Even after all this time, it feels like I don’t know much about you after all. I’d like to know a little more about you. What makes you tick, Setsuna?” 

Her eyes widened. “I...that’s...that’s not something you can turn into a hobby!” 

“Sure you could. There’s a thing called people-watching, right? Well, I could be a Setsuna—” 

She kicked me in the shin. It didn’t hurt, but I got the idea and settled back in my seat as Mari started making her way back. 

“...idiot,” she mumbled under her breath. 

Before I could retort, Mari bounced back into her seat, smiling. “Came up with any ideas?”

“I can draw,” Setsuna immediately volunteered.

“Really? Do you have any examples?” The Stormweaver asked, surprised. 

To my surprise, Setsuna blushed. “No.” 

I narrowed my eyes, studying her expression.

“Liar,” I mouthed to her, then adopted a blank expression as Mari looked towards me. 

“News to me too,” I said innocently. 

“Oh...? Well, I guess we’ll see. In fact, we’ll spend some time indulging in our hobbies together today!” Mari said, clapping her hands together. “Of course, we still need to find one person a hobby.” 

Two pairs of eyes settled accusingly on me. I grinned, ready to pursue what Setsuna and I had been arguing about earlier, but the sealer narrowed her eyes before subtly taking her finger and drawing it across her throat. 

“I’ll keep thinking about it,” I said, smiling slightly.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before this month ends, two major additions to my side stories will occur:  
> 1) Defiance, the Hikaru canonical sidestory, is going to be condensed into a single chapter and re-uploaded. It's super different now and will definitely be worth checking out. I'll write an A/N that indicates when this is done (but I have it scheduled for 1/23)  
> 2) Fantasia, the Mari canonical sidestory, will be updated (1/26) and completed (1/30). 
> 
> If you want to learn more about either character or the world they live in, or just want something to read, I highly suggest looking into both of them when these updates roll out! Again, I'll write an A/N when they do happen.
> 
> As for Spellborne, we now have two parts of this arc left! Upload dates are planned to be 1/21 and 1/23 respectively!


	15. (1.3.7) Actualization, Part 7

#  **(1.3.7) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Actualization, Part 7**

We spent the next two hours wandering from shop to shop, looking for a hobby appropriate for me. Though initially I had been indifferent to the whole idea, once I’d actually been dragged into the first shop, I had decided to actually put some thought into it. 

But what did I like? What was something I might be interested in? Everything we’d examined so far hadn’t managed to elicit a reaction from me. I hadn’t even known what Setsuna liked, so how could I know what I liked?

_ Wait, wasn’t it supposed to be the other way around? _

That had been an unpleasant surprise to me, not knowing what Setsuna was actually interested in. Of course, it was easy for me to forget — for so long, what I ‘wanted’ was never a factor, and even when I’d been given the chance at a future, I’d never wanted for much. As an Ice Aberrant, I just didn’t need much. 

In theory, I could work for nearly every single second of every day for weeks on end, only taking breaks to eat — and even that was just to avoid the stacking mana costs that starvation would inflict on my body. Sleep deprivation, on the other hand, was something I was already largely resistant to as a result of my regeneration and healing, so I’d only need to sleep a few hours every week, at best. I could make my own water — hell, I could even make my own air. 

_ The only reason I didn’t...well, prior to meeting Setsuna, I’d often gotten by on as little of two hours of sleep a day and a single meal. Once she began to live with me, though, I adapted my schedule to her needs. Hobbies? Interests? None of that has ever been something I needed, even with her. _

Hikaru had said that indulging in one’s interests was a method to relieve stress. Stress, though, was something I could ignore, just as I could ignore nearly every other signal my body might send me. I’d never needed a hobby. 

_ But I’d forgotten that Setsuna wasn’t like me. I—  _

I ducked a negligent swing at my head from the sealer in question. 

“We’re here for your hobby,” she reminded me, walking next to me as we moved through another crowded street. 

“Sorry, I was thinking about what else I might be interested in,” I lied blankly. Setsuna caught it, and almost called me out on it, but visibly restrained herself with a small sigh. 

“This is harder than I thought,” Mari said thoughtfully, walking on my other side. I noticed that, just like every other time, she kept enough space between us to avoid accidentally touching me. “You really just don’t want to do much, do you?” 

I opened my mouth to respond— 

“Besides things related to being a Lunari?” 

I closed my mouth. 

“Maybe it’s hopeless...” Mari muttered. “Am I being too overbearing? Maybe something productive would be easier for you after all, then...” 

“I don’t think I really mind,” I said truthfully. “Though yes, something productive would be easier.” 

_ Maybe the reason Setsuna and I didn’t talk very deeply was because there was nothing interesting about me. And that was sort of true, wasn’t it? What could I even talk to her about? And that went for just about everyone I know, wasn’t it? How could I talk to anyone at all, if I had nothing to add? _

I couldn’t say any of that to Mari, of course. That would have been rather sad to admit, and I didn’t want her judgement. 

“Why are you so interested in us getting hobbies, anyways?” 

“So you don’t burn out,” Mari said, sounding serious. “Working with me isn’t easy — I know that as much as anyone. So if you don’t have anything to relieve that stress, it’ll get — wait, where’d Setsuna go?” 

“Into the weapons shop that we passed a minute ago to restock her supplies.” 

“Woah, I didn’t even notice she left,” Mari said, sounding impressed. 

“She’s challenging to track,” I agreed. “Anyways, we may as well go pick her up. If I’ll be getting a productive hobby, odds are good that it’ll be found there.” 

She laughed ruefully. “Alright, fine.”

The weapons shop was a simple, but surprisingly clean place, managed by a brown-haired boy that looked to be about as old as we were. Setsuna was engaged in a surprisingly lively conversation with him, a very long, black object held in her hands. 

No, wait, wasn’t that a...?

“Yuki, how about this?” Setsuna asked, walking away from the worker in order to show me what she was holding — a bow! A longbow, to be precise, nearly six feet in length and made of some kind of blackened wood. “Recreational archery is practically a form of meditation and is good for increasing focus and discipline.” 

I narrowed my eyes as she smiled sweetly at me.

“Hey, that sounds like a good idea,” Mari said from behind me. “I doubt either of you have super-long range abilities, and even I can only blow things up from a distance. You wanted something useful, right, Yuki? This is it.”

I hummed thoughtfully, taking the bow from Setsuna and weighing it in my hands, then — for the first time in a while — intentionally initiating a mind-split. 

_ Archery wasn’t a common skill for Lunari. At about mid-range, arrows couldn’t be fired fast enough to easily land a hit and could leave the user in a vulnerable position. At short-range, an empowered throwing knife was a superior weapon. And at both ranges, a mana technique was superior to both.  _

_ No, archery only really shined at the longer ranges. Very few mana techniques could extend over more than a hundred meters, and of those, even less had any semblance of precision. On top of that, a Lunari with good discipline, physical control, and eyesight could become very good at it, very quickly. They could even be supplemented with poisons, a field that Hikaru had been pushing me towards for quite some time.  _

_ On the other hand, though, archery was useless against an opponent prepared for it. Even I had a sufficiently strong mana defense to ward off an arrow. Empowering arrows with mana were challenging, offered less returns, and removed the stealth aspect from the archery, as well.  _

_ Still, it could be useful, couldn’t it? It would take a relatively low amount of effort to make it battle-useful, and if it saved my life even once... _

I snapped out of my thoughts, noting with satisfaction that barely any time had passed. “I think that’ll be good.” 

Setsuna smiled, pleased. 

_ Is that boy...glaring at me?  _

“Ren, could you ring that up for me?” she asked, gesturing at the longbow. 

The worker blinked. “Yes, of course, Setsuna.” He quickly went off to do what she asked. 

_ Hmm? Something was strange about that encounter, but what?  _

“Do you come here often?” Mari asked, unintentionally saving me from asking myself. 

Setsuna nodded. “Weapons are force multipliers for me, and if I run out, things get a lot more...challenging. So I stockpile them.” 

I suppressed a small smile, thinking about how many scrolls we had lined up in the storage room. 

“Ah, so that must be how he knows you by name,” Mari said, a sly grin on her lips. 

“Yes,” Setsuna agreed, strangely snippily. 

“I need arrows, and a quiver would probably be good to start with until I can get you to rig a system for me...” I mused, deciding to ignore their strange reactions. 

“Twenty-four should be a reasonable start, and you can always get more if necessary,” Setsuna pointed out as I grabbed a black quiver, then frowned. 

“How do you move quickly with a quiver?” 

“What do you mean?” Setsuna asked, confused.

Surprisingly, Mari was the one to step in. “Oh, I see the problem. You should get the kind that hangs on your back. It will still create problems for you though — if you bend over, I think your arrows are going to slide out.” 

“It’ll be better if I rig something up for you, I think. Guess I’ll have a new project sooner rather than later,” Setsuna mused. 

“Maybe. Sorry about that.” 

The sealer shook her head. “No, don’t be. I don’t mind at all.” 

“Here you go,” the worker named Ren interrupted, handing her the bow. “If you need anything else, please feel free to return!” 

“Thank you very much.” Setsuna turned to him with a small smile, bowing briefly, then turned back to us. “Ready whenever you two are.” 

Mari nodded. “I know I said we should do more things together today, but do you guys mind if we put it off until a later date? It’s a bit later than I thought, and...there’s some stuff I need to take care of, and—” 

“Don’t worry, we get the idea,” I agreed. “Setsuna, do you want me to hold that for—” 

With a flash of blue light, the longbow vanished into her hand. 

“I’ll be good,” Setsuna said, smiling, “but thanks.” 

...

The walk back home was peaceful. I personally suspected that Setsuna was tired of socializing for the day — hell, I wouldn’t have minded some peace and quiet myself. But today had raised many questions, questions that I wanted answers to. 

_ I wasn’t joking about— _

I grimaced, pulling myself out of the false trance. That was getting tiring. 

“Are you okay?” Setsuna asked as we stepped inside the house. “That’s not the first time you’ve seemed almost disoriented today.” 

I nodded. “I’m fine, really. I’ve been trying to actively stop myself from having, ah, ‘episodes’, you could say. Takes a bit of focus, though.”

“Ah.” She hugged me from behind briefly. “Take care of yourself, okay?” 

I nodded, turning to face her to return the hug briefly before pulling away. “I will. Actually, Setsuna, I was wondering...do you want to talk for a little?” 

She bit her lip. “Is it urgent? There were a few things I was planning on finishing tonight.”

And I’d added to that workload. 

“It’s not important,” I said, shaking my head. “I’ll head out to Hikaru’s, then. We’re overdue for a conversation.” 

A troubled look crossed her face for a moment, but it was gone so fast that I wasn’t sure I had interpreted it properly. 

“Stay safe, okay?” 

_ Huh? She hasn’t worried about me going out at night for many months, now.  _

I nodded anyways. “I will. See you later tonight.” 

...

It took over a minute for Hikaru to answer the door, dressed in a white, knee-length dress, and when she finally did, she looked mildly annoyed. 

“What do you want?”

Sounded mildly annoyed, too. I contemplated my next words carefully. 

“When Mari almost killed me, you were there, weren’t you?” 

She stiffened. It took her a moment to respond, the woman clearly carefully choosing her own words.

“Get inside.” 

Or not. 

...

Sitting across from me on her couch, she stared at me silently for a few minutes. I didn’t say anything, waiting for her to react. 

“That must have been a guess,” she eventually said. 

“Yes, but not a very hard one. I gave you the benefit of the doubt in assuming that you wouldn’t leave me in such a dangerous situation unsupervised, even though you were mad at me.” 

She glared. “It wasn’t a dangerous situation until you made it one, you imbecile! What were you thinking!? Were you actually thinking that you could beat a Storm Aberrant in any form of combat?!” 

I nodded. “I know. I miscalculated badly. But it worked out in the end well, right? We’re even becoming friends now, I think.” 

Hikaru stared at me for a long moment with narrowed eyes. 

“It seems,” she said coldly, “that in all my time with you, I’ve forgotten a very important lesson to teach you.”

A chill ran down my spine. “What?”

“How to lose. Follow me.” 

It didn’t sound like an offer I could refuse. Quietly, I followed her as she stepped out of the house and began running in the direction of the Outskirts, hopping from rooftop to rooftop. Briefly, I contemplated reminding her that it was already evening, but figured she probably wouldn’t take an interruption well. I wasn’t sure what to make of her mood, but it felt...

I couldn’t help but feel a little scared. 

Thankfully, the highways were all but empty at this time of the day, so we weren’t interrupted or slowed as we crossed into the Outskirts, and kept running. The Outskirts were naturally rather wider, but even then we flew by with no end in stop. 

Eventually, I had to ask—

“Are we leaving the village proper?” 

“No,” she said curtly. “There are large, enclosed, and private training grounds known as Extreme Testing Arenas. We are headed there.” 

I didn’t like the sound of that. 

We arrived soon after. For a moment, I couldn’t help but stare — the building must have been at least seven hundred meters in length. A smaller tunnel jutted out from it, fifty meters all by itself. 

_ Large indeed. It’s even bigger than the Academy.  _

Worryingly enough, there wasn’t anything else for at least a kilometer around, giving the place a nearly haunted feel. The entrance was a thick steel door in front of the tunnel, an unlit mana lamp next to it. 

Hikaru pushed the door open, then motioned me in before securing it tightly behind us. Once the door was fully closed, more mana lamps lit up the ceiling, spaced intermittently. 

“What is this?” I asked as we walked down the long corridor. 

“Extreme Testing Arena Two,” she explained. “As the name implies, it’s for testing and training that might cause substantial property destruction. Many of the highest levels of examinations and certifications are held here. That lamp on the outside indicated that the arena wasn’t in use.” 

“Oh.” 

“That means you can go all out. And I expect you to.” 

_ Does that mean—?  _

I glanced sharply at her as she stopped outside the exit to the corridor, presumably the entrance to the arena proper. “Just what are you planning?”

She met my gaze, unimpressed. “I told you, didn’t I? I’m going to teach you how to lose.” 

“And if I refuse?” 

She paused. “Then our apprenticeship ends right here.” She turned around, looking a little sad. “I have much to teach you still, Yuki. So much. But I won’t teach you further without you learning this. Yes, it is true that your decision worked out for the best. But that isn’t how you play the game. You don’t assign value to a decision based on its outcome! That is pure foolishness! I’m glad that you recognize that it was a mistake in hindsight, but you don’t really understand, I think, and you certainly don’t regret it, do you?” 

She shook her head, a scowl on her face as her voice rose. “You talk about becoming friends with that girl so casually, when a single mistake with her will kill you. It’s not even a minor risk — in your first encounter, with only a few sentences, you angered her enough to fight you, and then with one more, you got her to bring to bear genuine intent to kill. You don’t have a way to leash her properly, and you know that, but you’re going to try anyways, because you think it’s ‘right’! Since when has being ‘right’ mattered to anyone?! Life isn’t fair, Yuki, and you know that! You know that so well that I’m not sure how you could have forgotten, but you clearly have! ‘Right’ won’t protect you from her! ‘Right’ won’t protect the girl you care about so much! And in the real world, ‘right’ doesn’t mean anything at all!” 

Her eyes blazed with passion, and something darker. “You, Yuki, shouldn’t HAVE stupid morals like that! You’re far too weak for them, and if I have to beat them out of you to make sure that you don’t throw your damn life away for them, then I will!” 

Mana flared at her fingertips, and she savagely cut a line through her palm, dripping it onto a horizontal stone panel sticking through the wall. The array glowed blue, absorbing the blood, then the wall vanished, leaving open the entrance to the arena. 

She turned away. “I respect you, Yuki, so I’ll give you a choice. Turn back and dissolve our apprenticeship, or...step forward, and learn what it means to lose. There are about two minutes before the door closes, so I expect that you’ll have a minute and a half to make your decision before it’s made for you.” 

Without another word, she strode forward, leaving me with my choice. 

I closed my eyes, a bitter smile on my face. 

_ You think I didn’t know all of that, Hikaru? I know all too well how weak I was. All too damn well. But that’s why I couldn’t... _

I recall the dark thought I’d had, when Mari had stood outside my door.

_ That’s right. The real reason I didn’t turn Mari away? It should have been obvious to you, Hikaru.  _

_ I was not strong, but Mari was.  _

**I could use her.**

“This was never something I could choose,” I said softly, bitterly. 

I stepped into the arena. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well...that's not good.


	16. (1.3.8) Actualization, Part 8

#  **(1.3.8) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Actualization, Part 8**

The arena floor was flat stone, with literally no distinguishing features besides the metal walls of the building. Experimentally, I tapped one of them, and realized that they were covered in seals and also quite thick. 

With the featureless landscape, it wasn’t hard to locate Hikaru, standing approximately in the center of the arena. I took my time walking to her, centering my racing heart.

It was obvious that whatever happened here, we were going to fight. I didn’t know on what terms, though, but from the way she had been talking, I suspected that I wouldn’t be walking out of here on my own power. 

“You actually came,” Hikaru said, her back to me. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to. I think I was hoping you weren’t going to, actually.” 

“Why not?” 

“Because it would have saved both of us from what I have to do to you.” 

Well, it sounded like I was going to get beat no matter what anyways, so...

“This is about Aiko, isn’t it?” 

Her shoulders stiffened. “I shouldn’t even be surprised by now.” She turned around, any sign of weakness gone by the time she faced me and a sharp coldness in her eyes. “Prepare yourself. Don’t hold back, Yuki, or I’ll give you real reason to regret it.”

I closed my eyes, then pulled tightly on the Ice buried within me, bringing it as close to the surface as I dared. My next breath misted out in front of me. 

“I’m ready,” I said, opening my eyes.

She chuckled darkly. I flinched as an oppressive feeling began to radiate out from her. “No, you aren’t.” 

She vanished from the spot she was standing on, a cloud of dust erupting. 

“No one’s ever ready when they encounter something truly beyond their comprehension.” I spun around at the voice, realizing that she had somehow ran behind me in an instant. 

This time, she vanished without a trace. My eyes widened. 

“Haven’t you figured it out yet, Yuki?” she asked from behind me once more, voice filled with malice. “Or—” 

“—do you need another demonstration?” This time, she was to the left of me. 

“No one can move like that,” I said, stunned. “It’s...not possible.” 

She cocked her head. “Moving? Does it look—” 

“—like I’m moving?”

It was unmistakable this time. She hadn’t left my vision — but yet, she’d instantly moved from my left to my right, even in the same pose, arms held loosely at her sides. Unmistakable, certainly, but impossible—

_No. Improbable, not impossible. But..._

“Teleportation...” 

Not simple ultra-fast movement, the way Mari could move. No, this was...spatial displacement. Instantaneous translocation. I couldn’t even track Mari! How was I supposed to handle—?! 

_No. You couldn’t track Mari, right? As far as you’re concerned, this is the same thing._

The panic faded, replaced by something colder. My mind effortlessly split. 

_What could I bring to bear here? To put Hikaru down required something that could bypass her Aberration’s powers. I couldn’t afford to chip her down. Poison was out — nothing I have on me will shake her, not even for a moment. Wind would only be useful to move. Water and archery, completely useless._

_Then—_

I stabbed backwards through my stomach, a blade of Ice rapidly growing through me before exploding outward as it passed through my clothing. Hikaru’s presence diminished as she teleported away from behind me, but I knew I had gotten her. 

_Four rules of engagement._ _  
_ _1) Don’t waste time looking for her. If she’s not in front of you, that’s all you need to know._ _  
_ _2) Don’t give her anything to react to. She’ll just teleport._ _  
_ _3) Anything that isn’t inherently lethal must be used to guide her into a position where a lethal blow can be struck, or it is worse than useless._ _  
_ _4) Don’t hesitate. You’ll have one shot._ _  
_ _  
_ I hadn’t been standing idly as she’d been showing off to me. It took half a second, starting when the mana shifted around her, for her to teleport away. That was half a second of vulnerability that I could exploit. 

_If I caught her in that moment with anything able to disrupt her concentration, that’d open a window where I could land a lethal strike. But she would come at me the second she finished healing from the wound I dealt her. How much time do I have?_

_And she’s going to be pissed. She probably won’t stop until she lands something at least as bad._

My feet froze the ground underneath me, Ice crackling out in a wave around me. Though I doubted it would stop her for even a moment, it would freeze the blood behind me, ensuring I didn’t slip in it. 

_So the best thing to do here would be to let her hit me—_

A crushing impact slammed into me from behind at the same time a wall of Ice erupted from in front of me. I slammed face-first into it, getting embedded halfway into the Ice as most of my bones shattered. My conscious thought ceased, overwhelmed with pain even through the Veil. 

But I wasn’t limited to a single stream of thought! 

_—and then, in the second she’d let her guard down, strike back!_

A spike of Ice stabbed through her foot. It was a small thing, but enough. 

_A gamble! I doubt she could teleport if I use my mana as interference! She’ll have to dissolve the Ice first, giving me a window—_

Ice raced through my body, forcing it to move as I turned around and lunged at her throat with mana-enhanced fingers.

_If I ripped out her throat, she won’t be able to breathe! No oxygen to the brain meant she couldn’t think. She might be able to regenerate that, but I could use the time to cripple her, and then freeze her body before shattering it all at once!_

My fingers carved into her skin and **disintegrated** _._

“Not bad,” Hikaru said softly, catching my handless arm. I tried to rip my arm out of her grasp, but no matter what I tried, I couldn’t budge it. Then, a moment later, I stilled entirely, some kind of weight utterly enveloping me. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even think to move. An intense emotion flooded me, and it was so foreign that I didn’t know what to think of it at first, but then it pushed past my Veil and I felt it with all too much clarity— 

**Fear. Of. Death.**

My breath stopped. My heart stopped. My thoughts stopped. Everything stopped. I couldn’t even collapse, left in an awkwardly bent position. 

“Do you feel that?” she whispered. She squatted down until I could see her eyes, glowing a deep, exquisite violet. “You don’t understand, do you? It’s okay. I told you that you wouldn’t be ready, after all, so I’ll tell you. It’s your soul, Yuki. I’m holding it in my grasp right now, and if you move, I’ll tear it in two. You don’t know it, but your body does, and that’s why you can’t move.”

I hadn’t heard of anything so ridiculously impossible in my life. 

Somehow, I believed her anyways. 

She loosened her grip ever so slightly. My brain and heart and lungs restarted, and I fell to my knees. “Have you figured it out yet, Yuki? What Aberrant am I? There’s only one that makes sense now, isn’t there?” 

_Of course. I’d wondered if Hikaru’s supposed Regeneration Aberration was real. It didn’t fit the pattern of all the others. Storm, Ice, Crystal, Hurricane, Snow, Plant, so on and so forth...they all had one thing in common, didn’t they? They were all natural. Unorthodox affinities, but natural one all the less._

_Then...Hikaru was the most ‘natural’, and simultaneously ‘unnatural’, of them all._

“Etheria...Aberrant,” I panted out. 

Her lips curled up into a dark smile. “No. Etheria **Spellweaver.** ” 

Spellweavers were the pinnacle, the highest level of Mastery. Alune only had three living ones, I’d thought — one for Fire, Water, and Wind, respectively. And there were only five alive in all of Lunaria. 

Hikaru, being a Spellweaver of her Aberration...that wouldn’t make her the strongest in Lunaria. 

_No. She was probably the strongest person in the_ **_world._ **

“There it is,” she said softly. “That expression. Now you understand, don’t you? What it’s like to lose, to come across a situation you can’t turn in your favor. Where all you can try to do is to try not to lose everything. Remember this, please. Remember what this despair feels like, because I never want to teach you this again. This...is the consequence of trying to face something you aren’t ready for.” 

She pressed her hand against me, and my body began knitting itself together. I stared up at her, not defiant, but not passive, either. My body might know that she could tear me apart, but my mind — my heart — knew something else _._

**_It didn’t matter to me._ **

She shook her head slowly, standing back up. 

“You...you won’t, huh? I could break you. I bet it wouldn’t be too hard to force you to do what I want, to tear every idea of that damned girl out of your head. It’s not Mari Aono, is it? It never was, no matter how much you said otherwise. You’re doing this for your sealer, aren’t you? She’s going to get you killed, Yuki!”

“You should know by now, Master,” I said softly. “You should know that...”

_I didn’t care what happened to me if it meant that I could protect Setsuna._

Though I trailed off, she apparently understood what I meant, based on her grimace. 

“She saved me,” I said softly. “She gave me a reason. And I can’t ignore that. It’s not possible. She gave me everything. The only way I can ever repay her...is to make sure she can get what she wants, too.” 

“And then what?” 

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll figure that out when I have the time to. But right now...right now, I need to get stronger.” 

_And maybe someday, I could figure out what I want, too._

“...Tomorrow morning,” she eventually said under her breath.

“Huh?” 

“Tomorrow morning. Come to my house. I’m going to extend your training time with me until your treatment for Reverie Disorder is complete. Every single morning and evening, unless you have an unavoidable appointment, understand? I’ll clear my schedule.”

“Where is this coming from?” I asked, standing up slowly. My whole body ached beyond anything I’d ever felt, and my Ice had receded deep within me for some reason, strangely inaccessible. “Why...why are you...?”

“You want to be stronger, don’t you?” Hikaru asked bitterly. “I’ll help you.”

“But why?” I asked. “You — you clearly don’t approve of the path I’m taking. And after two years, you can’t have much more research on me left—” 

She raised her hand as if to slap me, and I flinched. We stayed like that for a few moments. 

“You...it doesn’t matter to you,” she said, getting up and turning away from me. “Tomorrow morning, Yuki. Now get out. Please.” 

Hikaru sounded...exhausted, somehow, in a way I hadn’t ever heard from her before. Unwilling to protest further, I did as she said, limping my way to the door. It was locked with the same mechanism as the entrance, but as I got closer, I noticed a small glass syringe lying on the lock, filled with a single drop of Hikaru’s blood. With it, it was easy to open the door, and I walked out of the arena. 

Before the door closed, I turned back. Hikaru was still standing where I’d left her, head tilted towards the ceiling as if in prayer.

_What would she wish for, I wonder?_

...

“Yuki...!” In a strange repeat of the day before, Setsuna was there to greet me as I staggered into the room. This time, though, I really did collapse into her arms, nearly blacking out entirely. “What happened — what happened to you!?” 

A dozen possible responses flashed through my mind, and were rejected soundly. 

“Just...some training,” I said, lying through my teeth. “Ah, speaking of which...Setsuna, I’ll be busy for a while. Pretty much all the time outside of the Academy.”

“W-What?” 

“I’m not sure how long. Until my Reverie Disorder is treated, she said, but I don’t know what my schedule will look like after.” 

“I...” 

“Sorry,” I whispered, the strength flowing out of my body. “Please bring me to bed...I’ll be better...morning...” 

I blacked out. 

...

...

...

I woke up abruptly, my heart pounding. For a moment, I forgot where I was, and began calling mana to my fingertips before a gentle hand laid on top of mine, squeezing it. 

“A nightmare?” Setsuna’s voice whispered in the dark. 

I remembered running from something I couldn’t see — a rough mimicry of Setsuna’s own nightmares, if I remembered correctly — and realized that Hikaru’s little show of force would probably feature in my dreams for weeks to come. 

“Yes. Have you slept at all?” I asked weakly. 

“No. Too worried,” she said softly. “You...looked terrible. Not just physically...you looked scared. What happened?” 

I thought back to the events of last night. Hikaru’s challenge to me, and subsequent ‘lesson’, as she had put it. The fight...I had fought to kill Hikaru, instinctively mind-split in order to keep up with her, and used more of my Ice than I’d ever had.

_And it still hadn’t been enough. Not even close. My best efforts were mildly amusing to her._

“What happened...” I began, then trailed off. 

_How was she so strong? No, that wasn’t the important question — she was an Etheria Aberrant. An Etheria Spellweaver. The thing I needed to know...was ‘why’?_

“I learned a lot.” 

Setsuna was silent for a moment. “Like...what?” she eventually asked, confused.

_I learned that there were some things out of reach. And that...that was okay. Even if I couldn’t be that strong now, maybe one day I could be that strong. Just not now. But I think I understood what Hikaru was trying to teach me. Befriending Mari wasn’t necessarily wrong, nor would I never be able to do it. It just didn’t need to be now, when I wasn’t ready for it._

_I would make sure to remember that lesson, Hikaru. But I’ve already made up my mind. I could use Mari to cover for my weakness..._

_...and I would learn how to overcome hers, too. The Storm Aberrant Marisa Aono was a dangerous threat that I needed to be wary of. But our potential teammate Mari was someone that I could get along with. I knew a little bit about having two sides to me, after all, and...and in the end, despite my devotion to Setsuna, I wasn’t blind to the parallels between us._

_I might have selfish motivations, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t have selfless ones, too._

I held one of those motivations closer to me, letting sleep take me once more. 

“I learned how to fight for what matters to me.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goddess of Mercy indeed. 
> 
> We're one arc away from the completion of Act 1, which I consider to be essentially the prologue of the story. I'm very much looking forward to it - and if you've made it this far, I'm sure you guys are too. 
> 
> Defiance (Hikaru's side story) will be fully updated a few minutes after the release of this chapter, and I highly suggest giving it a look!  
> Also in a few days, Fantasia (Mari's side story) will be updated and completed!


	17. (1.4.1) Faith, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title's a bit of a reference to Fantasia, which you should totally check out if you haven't yet.

#  **(1.4.1) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Faith, Part 1**

Hikaru didn’t say a word as she let me into her house. Nor did she say anything as I sat down in the usual place. Slowly, she sat down across from me, a blank expression on her face. 

“I have a question,” I eventually said. “I need an honest answer from you, Hikaru, or I don’t think I’ll be able to trust you at all ever again.”

“Is it about Aiko?” Hikaru asked, tone surprisingly fragile.

I shook my head...then reconsidered. “It might be. It depends.”

“Ask.”

“Why did you need to become so strong?” 

She thought for a few seconds. “To ensure that I had freedom of choice,” she eventually said unhelpfully. 

I raised an eyebrow. 

“Hold on, you impatient brat, I’m thinking about how to say what I need to say.” 

I waited.

“Being an Etheria Aberrant comes with far more risk than even the Storm Aberration, because of just how much power I can bring to bear. As I am, Yuki, I could level all of Alune.”

I flinched at the thought. Alune wasn’t exactly a small state, so the amount of power she was claiming to be able to wield... 

“As you might imagine, the higher-ups wanted to be able to control me...so I decided to make sure that they couldn’t by becoming so strong that they couldn’t even think about it. Aberrants are supposed to be enrolled in the military pretty much until they’re unfit for duty, but I am able to provide other services for the state instead. Well, rather, I offered those services as a ‘concession’ to be less of a ‘threat’. Not that I mind doing them, though, but that’s the way I had to think.” 

I thought over her words carefully. They felt right to me, as pessimistic of a picture as they painted. I might serve Alune, but I wouldn’t forget that Alune wanted to kill me, too. Even if their reasoning made sense. 

“I understand,” I nodded. “Or, rather, I don’t understand, but that’s an acceptable answer to me for now...Master.” 

Her eyes widened marginally at my use of the label. “Why is that what you wanted to know?” she asked.

“Because I don’t understand you,” I said bluntly. “I thought I did, but the events of yesterday night clearly proved otherwise. Maybe that’s my fault. I’d gotten used to thinking of you as my dependable, wise mentor, but you’re more than that, aren’t you? And I don’t think I really understood that until you beat me with it, quite literally.”

She winced.

“I don’t need to know now, but someday, you’ll have to tell me about just what you went through in order to try to convince me with so much conviction that I should turn my back on the people I know just to survive. Because, Hikaru, don’t you understand? If you can tell me that so easily, then how can I know whether or not you wouldn’t do the same to me, one day?” 

She stared at me thoughtfully. “I...I will keep that in mind, Yuki. I...” she hesitated. “Never mind. But I won’t forget. Just...not soon.”

I nodded. “Okay. But I won’t be able to completely trust you until then.” 

She closed her eyes. “I can understand that, at least. Now, the training?” 

I nodded, then closed my eyes and let myself fall into my Mindscape. 

_ I’d woken up again well before sunrise. My body was still a bit tender, but it was easy to ignore. A little less easy to brush off was the girl hugging me gently, stirring me from sleep.  _

_ “Morning,” she’d mumbled. “You okay?” _

_ “I’m...alright,” I said truthfully. “But I have to get up now.” _

_ “Huh? But it’s...” There was a pause as she had checked her Mindscape. “It’s four in the morning.”  _

_ “I know, and that means I’m running a bit late. I’m supposed to be meeting with Hikaru the mornings before school as well as the afternoons and possibly a bit of the evening. I wasn’t too sure on the schedule, so we’ll probably talk about it—” _

My hand snapped up, blocking a half-hearted punch. 

“Good.” 

“You’re not even trying,” I retorted. 

She sighed. “It may surprise you to learn that I don’t actually want to hit you, Yuki. Especially not after yesterday.” 

I narrowed my eyes at her, but she seemed genuinely put off. Deciding not to force it, I changed the subject. “Okay. How about we talk about the schedule, then? What time do you want me to be here by? I’ll need to leave about ten minutes before classes start to make it there with a comfortable margin of error, and I can be here in about the same amount of time. I’d prefer to be home by midnight, at the latest...oh, and I think I’ll have to have more team meetings, but I don’t know when those might happen.”

Hikaru nodded. “I’ll have an exact schedule for you by tomorrow morning, so just show up at...eh, four or so. You don’t really need sleep, right? We’ll work around team meetings — if you don’t show up by twenty minutes after the assigned time, I’ll just assume you got held up by one. I won’t have you come this afternoon, either — you should use the time to do some research on what I’m about to talk to you about. Meet me in the living room...you’ll want to be sitting down for this one.”

...

“I’m sorry? Say that again?” I asked, surprised.

“If you’re really serious about controlling Mari, I have an answer for you.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What is it? What are its limitations and drawbacks?”

Hikaru crossed her arms. “What do you know about rituals?”

“Rituals?” I asked, surprised. “I assume you aren’t talking about the religious ones. Aren’t they more...Arcacian?” 

She nodded, a half-hearted smirk on her face. “The magi do occasionally have some good ideas. Were they covered at all during your studies in the Academy?” 

“I know only that they exist, and little more than that.”

“Thought so. Well, rituals are essentially ceremonies with specific instructions, inputs, and outputs. Give and take. They range from personal enhancement to, ah...well, there’s no real maximum, but there’s obviously a corresponding increase in cost. I don’t believe there are any recorded rituals that have affected an area more than a few hundred meters across, and I shudder to think of the cost it took.” 

“Personal enhancement?” I said, interested. “So you could make yourself stronger?”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be naive. Of course you could, but you would have to pay the associated cost. What’s a classic example...ah, right, the Strength ritual. At the cost of your ability to limit said force, you maximize your body’s capabilities to use it. An imprecise berserker at best, lethal to everyone around you at worst, and completely, utterly useless for almost every magi, not to mention that the strain you put on your body rapidly begins to wear it down, and the few practitioners of that particular ritual usually do not live past twenty-five. There is also almost always a permanent sacrifice of a bit of your magical potential, but that’s not much compared to the other, debilitating side effects. Have I made my point?”

I nodded. “Find rituals that has costs you can exploit.”

She facepalmed. “That — that is one way to think of it, certainly, but that wasn’t really what I...ah, well, can’t say I haven’t done it myself. I’ll never be a magus anyways, so it wasn’t a big loss.” 

“The costs of the rituals you performed were nullified by your regenerative abilities, right? Does that mean that I could...?”

She shook her head. “That’s something I will not let you do for a while. I’ll explain why when you’re ready for it, but take my word on it for now, okay?”

I nodded cautiously. “Alright. Anyways, don’t fuck with rituals, right? I assume you brought all of that up for a reason...?”

“Indeed. I did say that a sacrifice of one’s magical potential was usually always a sacrifice, but this isn’t one of those. Rather, it sacrifices  _ choice _ .” 

“Huh?”

“The ritual is called a Blood Vow, and it is one of the few rituals used in Lunaria. It’s an elegant thing — the vow is sworn between two Manaweavers, one a master and one a servant. The servant surrenders choice — that is, they can not disobey any direct order given, no matter how extreme, and even resisting causes one excruciating pain.”

“Why would someone want that?” I asked, revolted. “That sounds like slavery, at best.”

“That’s exactly what it is,” Hikaru agreed. “The master, as you might imagine, sacrifices blood —  _ permanently. _ Most people could not afford to Vow more than once in their entire lifetime, and they would certainly be seriously weakened after making the Vow. Of course, those with regenerative abilities can ignore that cost, as a little bit of focus will allow them to create new blood.” 

I nodded.

“Additionally, Blood Vows break upon the death of either party. Lastly, you can only swear one Blood Vow at a time, but that doesn’t really come up often. Oh, and the ritual itself is a bit dangerous, but it shouldn’t be an issue for someone with your mental strength.”

“So...what you’re suggesting is that Mari would swear this Vow to me as the servant, then? And I could, ah...give her orders? Like not to go insane?”

“Or so it works in theory,” Hikaru said, shrugging. “Storm Aberrants have been controlled by this method in the past, according to my research, but as I haven’t replicated the experiment myself, I don’t know if that info is really good or not. Still, all the theory checks out, and you should have absolute control over her.”

A thought occurs to me. “Then why hasn’t Alune forced this on her before?” 

“She hasn’t been required to swear one because the Vow must be sworn willingly, without duress, and with full knowledge of their consequences. A young child certainly could not meet those conditions, and just about anyone older wouldn’t want to do it willingly. And the Master of the Vow would usually be rather crippled as a result, and you could not bind it to someone too old, or they would just die and the Vow would unravel. You see now what I mean about rituals, right? They are very, very powerful, but terrifically inconvenient at best, and it’s only because people like you and I can regenerate ourselves—”

I stiffened. “The Blood Vow. Mari and I would have to keep it absolutely secret, wouldn’t we?”

Hikaru nodded. 

“Wait, but the — wouldn’t Mari know, if I was supposed to lose my blood and I just walked that off—”

“You can swear her to secrecy with the Blood Vow,” Hikaru pointed out blankly. 

I just barely managed to resist facepalming. “Right. Ah...wait. That day you argued with the Headmaster, he mentioned that blood-binding an apprentice gave legal control over them. Is this...?” 

Hikaru nodded. “Precisely so. Since the master can make the servant do anything, it’s only natural that they assume legal control over them. Another detracting point from the whole system.” 

_ Legal control? Back when we’d first met, Hikaru said that if I was her official apprentice, I’d be more protected. But what the Headmaster said contradicted that, didn’t it? I have no protection — not officially — if I’m just her apprentice. So what she had meant was...  _

I narrowed my eyes. “You were planning on blood-binding me at some point, weren’t you?” 

“I was,” Hikaru admitted. “It would have let me tell you many of my secrets, more than a few of which are very, very dangerous. Secrets that could threaten the entire country — and now that you’ve seen a little of what I can do, I think you’ll understand the potential magnitude of the secrets I hold. But...” she sighed. “Even if it weren’t for the events of yesterday, I believe you leashing Mari with a Blood Vow would be better. It will negate most of the threat she presents to you directly, and that is far more immediately urgent.”

_ Her reasoning was sound, I guess. I didn’t even want to ask about what else she could do, if she was apparently able to tear my soul apart.  _

Although I still wasn’t quite sure about how I felt about Hikaru, I knew that I definitely wasn’t ready to Vow to her. Not as a servant.

“I understand. So I just need to convince her, then? A bit of a tall order, isn’t it?” 

“Yes. Tell her that I’m the one pushing for it, if need be. It may make her a bit more palatable to the idea.” 

I raised an eyebrow. “Just what kind of history do you two have?”

Hikaru shrugged. “That I can’t tell you. Doctor-patient confidentiality. That being said, she didn’t leave with the greatest impression of me, so if you need to encourage her a little, feel free to drop my name.” 

“Even so, though, what could I even say to Mari to convince her?” I asked. Though I’d slowly begun putting an argument together in my head, it wasn’t especially convincing to me. 

“Well, that’ll be your job to figure out. Seduce her if you have to,” Hikaru said, a blank look on her face. “After all, it’s the best chance you have of protecting Setsuna.”

My eyebrow twitched. “That was low. But fine. I’ll look into the Vow, and I’ll try my best to...convince her, I suppose.” 

Hikaru nodded. “It’s about time, isn’t it? I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

I stood up and turned away, grabbing my backpack and pulling it over my shoulders.

“Yuki.”

“Hm?” I didn’t glance back.

“I’m proud of you.” 

“...Thanks.” 

...

After classes, I walked down to the library. Setsuna followed along, saying that she had some research to do herself, but she notably didn’t split up from me when I went in. Suppressing a smile, I went over to the Magic section of the library, the sealer trailing me quietly and curiously. I pretended to be wandering for some time, picking off various books from the shelves, skimming over a few pages, losing interest, and, when I was sure no one was paying the slightest bit of attention to me, taking my real target quickly. 

“Ah,” she murmured as I slipped  _ Blood Vows: A Beginner’s Handbook _ off the shelf. Her hand fell to her side. [For you, or for Mari?] she tapped out. 

[Mari, and let’s not talk about this any further here. It must remain secret.] 

[I see.]

What information I could find lined up with what Hikaru had told me, not that I was particularly surprised. I put the book away, then paused. 

[Setsuna, could you go on ahead? I have...some things I need to do here.]

She stared at me for a while, an unreadable expression on her face. For a moment, I thought she might protest, but instead she only replied, [will you be gone long?] 

[Not more than a few hours, at the latest.]

[Understood,] she indicated neutrally. [See you tonight.]

With one last lingering glance, she left me by myself. 

_ Was she...mad at me?  _

Shaking my head, I resolved to think about it more later before drifting out of the Magic section and into an even scarier one — Legal.

If Hikaru no longer planned on making me a blood-bound apprentice, then I would need some other form of legal protection. After a few hours of searching, though, I hadn’t found much — well, at least unless Hikaru was willing to marry me, which I found rather unlikely.

_ Wait, there’s something there.  _

I narrowed my eyes in thought. 

_ Husband and wife. That was a legal relationship, right?  _

_ ‘Since the master can make the servant do anything, it’s only natural that they assume legal control over them.’  _

_ Then, marriage wasn’t the only option, right? Wasn’t there another type of relationship that could— _

I jerked myself out of my thoughts, flinching. For a moment, I stared down at the pages in front of me, not really seeing them. Then I sighed, returned the book to its place on itself, and picked up another one. 

_ Family Law: Adoption.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, there's been a lot done in my apparent absence!  
> For starters, Defiance and Fantasia are both done!  
> Also, I've started working on Team Dragon already. You can expect to see that soon.  
> Minor revisions to almost every chapter, especially in 1.1 and 1.2, have been released. No need to go back and read — most were clarity fixes. I'll be updating 1.1.1 with a much more thorough edit, and that might be worth rereading. I'll let everyone know when I do. 
> 
> We're on the last arc of Act 1!


	18. (1.4.2) Faith, Part 2

#  **(1.4.2) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Faith, Part 2**

“Welcome home, Yuki,” Setsuna greeted me with a small smile, looking up from her work on the living room floor. If she had been mad at me earlier, it didn’t show on her face. Supplies were scattered haphazardly everywhere, but I knew from experience that was just the way she worked. “Was your research productive?” 

I nodded, taking off my backpack and dropping it against the wall before carefully moving over to the couch and sitting down heavily. “Very, though it left me with much thinking to do. What about you? How’s—” I gestured at the floor, “that going?” 

Her smile brightened as she looked back down, beginning the process of putting everything away. “It’s going really well, actually. I’m just about finished with the blueprint for your archery. Well, for the first prototype, at least. I’m still playing around with a few different ideas, but essentially you’d just like to be able to access arrows easily without unduly burdening yourself, right? Technically, you could just seal those into your arm — probably not your hand, but maybe if I reworked the...ah, anyways, sealing into your body is a bit hard since I want to be able to support shooting with either hand, and...” 

I listened to her ramble on, more than a bit surprised. She wasn’t usually so talkative about her projects, and though she was plenty forthcoming if I asked about the details, I usually needed to prod her for them. 

“Ah, sorry, am I boring you?” she asked, suddenly looking guilty. 

“No, not at all,” I said honestly. “You’ve certainly put a lot of thought into this.” 

She smiled shyly, putting the last of her supplies into a scroll and sealing it before sealing the scroll within herself. “It...it was surprisingly challenging, actually. I had a lot of fun — oh, but it’s not done yet. Don’t celebrate until I have something ready for you.” 

“Eh,” I shrugged. “I trust you. You’ll get it done.” 

Her cheeks pinked and she looked away, flustered. “W-Well, it should be done within a day or two, at most. I’m still ironing out a few minor kinks in my Pulser rifle.” 

“Pulser...? Oh, that mana rifle, right? I think you mentioned that a while ago...ah, weren’t you working on that with someone?”

For some reason, she blushed again, a bit more deeply. I narrowed my eyes as she avoided looking at me. 

“It’s...well, it’s just about complete, actually. And they gave me complete ownership over it, so...” 

I raised an eyebrow. “They...gave their share to you? For what?” 

“...For free.”

I blinked. “Sorry?” 

“They gave it to me for free,” she said, still averting her gaze. “And that’s that.” 

“Okay?” I said, confused and more than a bit concerned, but it was glaringly obvious that she didn’t want to talk about it. 

“Sorry,” she said softly. 

I shrugged, though she couldn’t see it. “We all have our secrets, don’t we?”

She nodded stiffly, still unable to meet my eyes. 

“Well, with that being said, I need to visit Mari tonight for a...” I winced, “a bit of a difficult conversation. Have you eaten, Setsuna?”

“...yes.”

I studied the girl in front of me for a moment before sighing and standing up. “In that case, then, I’ll be going. I think I’ll be back in an hour at most, but it might go longer if things get...complicated.” 

“Is this about the...?” she trailed off. 

“Yes. Hikaru’s tasked me with convincing Mari to accept a Blood Vow to me.” 

Setsuna turned to me, expression blank. 

“I...wish you the best of luck.”

_ Was she upset about that?  _

“Thank you,” I said, standing up and moving to head out. 

The strange distance growing between Setsuna and I was starting to concern me, but there wasn’t much I could do about it for now. All this damned secret-keeping needed to stop. And perhaps I would be the first to offer her one of my own — the most recent one, perhaps.

_ If Hikaru adopted me, that would offer me substantial legal protection. _

I grimaced and tossed the thought out of my consciousness. I’d get back to worrying about all of that later, but for now, I had things to do. Soon enough, I was outside Mari’s house, knocking. 

A minute passed. I knocked again.

“Who’s there?” Mari called out.

“Yuki. Need to talk to you about something important.” 

“Uh oh.” And with that anti-climatic response, she opened the door, a lopsided smile on her face. “We’ve really got to stop meeting like this.”

I shrugged. “Believe me, I would if I could. It has been...a trying past few days.”

Mari smiled ruefully. “My bad.” 

“Huh? Oh, that wasn’t intended to be a slight.” I smiled sardonically. “I do not dislike you at all.” 

She blinked. “Um, thanks? Anyways, come inside.”

Soon enough, the two of us were situated in the living room, surrounded by colorful flowers once again. They were different this time, to my surprise — how much does this woman spend on plants? 

“So...?” Mari asked invitingly. 

“Hold on, you impatient woman, I’m trying to figure out how to say what I want to say.” 

She snickered. “Alright, take your time.”

I studied Mari for a few moments. She returned my gaze unabashedly and with more than a bit of naked curiosity. 

“You...value honesty, don’t you?” I said eventually. 

She raised an eyebrow. “That’s an interesting way to start a conversation. Yes, I do. Do you have bad news for me?”

I drummed my fingers in my lap. “Depends on your perspective, I suppose. Well, I shall be honest and blunt with you, because I can’t think of any other way to speak to you about this.”

_ Sorry, Hikaru. If you wanted a negotiator, you picked about the worst person possible. _

“Do you know what a Blood Vow is?”

Mari flinched. “Ah.” 

“Saves us time, then. You already know what I need to ask, right?” 

She stared at me quietly for a few moments. I didn’t interrupt, understanding that she was clearly thinking.

“I have a problem with that,” Mari said slowly. “There are a few things that I can not and will not give up. If you can promise me that you won’t make me give them up — promise me without the faintest bit of doubt, and please trust me when I say that I will know if you’re lying — then I’ll swear a Blood Vow to you, but only under that condition.” 

I hummed. “That...is far more receptive than I had expected. You are aware of what a Blood Vow asks for, right?”

She nodded. “Complete control over me, basically. I looked into it as part of my studies about apprenticeship.”

“Huh. And you’re still as willing as you are?”

The Stormweaver shrugged. “It makes me quite uncomfortable, actually. But I don’t really have a choice. It’s one of the easiest ways to control me, and probably one of the least...ah, inhumane. But — hold on, a Vow to you?! Won’t that cripple you?”

I smiled wanly, preparing to lie to her before remembering that — by her own admission — she could detect lies. Heartbeat, maybe? 

“No. That much is classified, but after the Vow I can tell you.”

She grinned playfully. “Ah, tempting.”

I shook my head. “Your conditions?”

The humor fell off her face. “You have someone close to you that you’re dedicated to protecting, right? I’m like that too. So I can’t — I won’t let you give me an order that contradicts that desire. You have to promise, Yuki.”

“Who?”

Mari hesitated, then sighed. “My little sister, of sorts. She’s...she’s my family, Yuki. She’s all I have left, and I can’t — I won’t let her get hurt.” 

I considered her for a moment. “As long as that doesn’t interfere with my own ability to protect Setsuna. I think you can understand that, right?”

She gnawed on her lip for a moment. “I don’t think it’ll ever...but fine, I can accept that.”

I nodded, closing my eyes for a moment to think about the exact wording of my promise. Having spent a few hours yesterday reading about Blood Vows, it wasn’t too hard to come up with something workable. 

When I was ready, I opened my eyes. “I promise that I will not intentionally inflict harm on the person you identify to me as your little sister, save for a circumstance where the harm I inflict would be less than the consequences of inaction, or if it would lead to the severe injury or death of Setsuna Tsuri — if, in turn, you promise to swear a Blood Vow to me.”

Mari nodded. “That should be—”

“Hold on, I’m not done. I also promise that I have no current intentions of bringing harm to you, with the same provisions as applies to your special person. Nor do I intend to use this Blood Vow for any reason other than the minimum level required to protect us, as well as to help control your Aberration, though I can’t say that I won’t use it for reasons outside of those if the situation demands it.”

The Stormweaver stared at me, surprised. “I...don’t think you’re lying about that.” 

“Because I’m not,” I replied succinctly. 

She cracked a smile. “Alright, I’ll give you that. Well, I guess you aren’t a half-bad candidate for a Blood Vow after all, then, and certainly you’re better than I could have hoped for with my condition. I’m...I’m in. I’ll swear a Blood Vow to you.” 

“Good,” I said, sighing softly. That had been much easier than I’d anticipated — too easy, I thought. Even with my assurances, I would have thought that she would resist more. 

_ She was already prepared for the possibility, she said. But... _

“I guess...maybe I’d better let you meet her,” Mari mused. 

I blinked at the apparent non-sequitur. “Who?” Then the rest of my brain caught up. “Ah, your little sister, right?” 

The Stormweaver nodded. “Yes. But she’s...um, a bit special.”

“Aberrant?” I guessed blindly. Then my eyes widened as I looked around, taking in the surrounding flora. “Plant Aberrant.” 

“Yeah.” 

I narrowed my eyes, thinking. Aberrants of that particular nature were volatile, just like Stormweavers. Their trigger, though, wasn’t their emotions, but rather the sunlight. I wasn’t sure about the mechanics of that, but needless to say that too much direct sunlight would force their powers out of their control, and that was never good for anyone.

They weren’t banned the way Ice Aberrants were, but definitely heavily restricted, similarly to Storm Aberrants. They were also one of the few Aberrants who didn’t need to actually fight, though they were required to go to the Academy. 

“How old is she?”

“Nine.” Mari paused. “Civilian nine.” 

Interesting. That meant she wasn’t taking the pills standard to all Lunari, and that meant— 

My eyes widened. “Ah. Ahh. She’s your ‘leash’, isn’t she? She’s how Alune is making you cooperate.” 

She sucked in a harsh breath. “That...you shouldn’t say things like that out loud.” 

I smiled, suppressing the bitterness behind the expression. “Mari, I like Alune. And everyone I care about is here. But I’m not stupid.” 

Crimson eyes regarded me warily. “You’re not wrong, Yuki. But still, for your sake, don’t say that kind of stuff out loud.” 

I nodded noncommittally. “So in exchange for her sitting out of the Academy, you do what you’re told. That’s how they’ve controlled you up until this point?” 

“And some other stuff,” Mari agreed, “but yes, that’s basically it. Otherwise I wouldn’t have gone on a team at all. I could have just started bounty hunting and running solo missions. Dangerous, sure, but at least it isn’t the people around me at risk.” 

“I understand,” I said, thinking about my own past and my passively suicidal mindset.

She blinked. “You really believe that, huh?”

I shrugged. “Blood Vow first.” 

She grinned. “Are you—” 

“Don’t guess,” I said sharply. “I won’t answer. Just be patient.” 

“Fine,” she said, groaning. “When, then?”

I shrugged. “Still preparing for it. I’ll let you know when, but I needed your permission first.”

“Oh. Well,” she shrugged negligently, “you have it. Now, do you want to see her?” 

“Sure.” 

“Follow me, then.” She stood up and led me deeper into her house. The layout of her house was exactly like mine, and soon enough I found myself in her storage room. It was much more empty than mine, though more poorly organized. Still, though, there was a fairly large red carpet in the middle of the floor. 

With a small grunt of effort, Mari moved over to the corner of the carpet and pushed it aside. Underneath it was a small black seal a little bigger than her hand engraved on the wooden planks of the floor. She placed her hand on it and channeled some mana to it, the seal lines glowing a dim blue before disappearing and taking the wooden planks with it to reveal a dimly lit room and a wooden ladder down to it. I couldn’t see more without going closer, but figured there was no need to. 

“You can come out now, Ayaka,” Mari said, surprisingly tenderly. 

“Okay!” A bright, cheerful voice replied. Soon enough, a small head with short, choppy black hair stuck out from the entrance, and was followed by the rest of her. When she caught sight of me, though, she froze, still halfway through clambering onto the floor proper. 

“Good evening,” I introduced myself, meeting her bright hazel eyes with my own. “You must be Mari’s little sister.” 

Her panicked eyes shifted over to the Stormweaver standing next to me. “Mari,” she whispered, “he can see me.” 

The brunette let out a sigh that was somewhere between exasperated and amused, a fond smile crossing her face. “This is my team leader, Yuki of Alune. He and I are going to become rather close soon, so he needed to know about you.” 

“Oh. Okay,” Ayaka said, all of her reservations vanishing as she pulled herself up the rest of the way before smiling brightly at me. “Hi. Are you her boyfriend?” 

Mari sighed again, sounding like she properly meant it this time. 

“No,” I said, privately amused, “more like her Master, if anything.”

The young girl stared up at me with wide eyes. “Does that mean you guys are gonna make a baby—” 

“Ayaka!” Mari said sharply. 

“Yep?” the girl asked, an innocent grin on her face.

“No. And we’ll be having a talk about where you learned things like that, too.” 

“Ehehe...”

I studied the two sisters. They didn’t look much alike at all, when compared closely, though the most obvious thing was their skin color. Mari’s skin was fairly tanned, but Ayaka was pale — probably due to a lack of sunlight, I realized. She was a thin and scrawny child, all in all.

_ ‘My little sister, I guess you could say’.  _

Not by blood. Rather, Mari had assumed responsibility over her. 

“Well, it was nice to meet you, Ayaka,” I said as gently as I could. 

_ I wouldn’t have a problem with protecting this child. She radiated innocence as easily as I breathed air.  _

“Ah, do you need to leave?” Mari asked, turning to face me. Behind her, Ayaka disappeared out of view. 

I nodded. “I’d better head back. There are some things we need to resolve.”

The Stormweaver raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment on it, for which I was grateful. “Alright. Want me to walk you out?”

I shook my head. “No need. I think it’d be better to keep an eye on that one.”

“Huh?” Mari turned around to see half a dozen new flower pots behind her in six of the seven colors of the rainbow. Ayaka’s hands reached out from the basement, dropping off the seventh to complete the set. “Hey! I said to wait a few days! The living room is all full! Hey — that better not be another one in your hands!”

“I’ll see myself out,” I said, suppressing a smirk. 

“Sorry, Yuki, and thank you — hey, you, get back here—” 

I left them to it, heart feeling strangely light.

_ So that was what she wanted to protect?  _

I thought about the promise I’d made to the Stormweaver. 

_ Yeah. That was a promise I could keep. _

...

“She said yes?” Setsuna asked, surprised. The girl was already ready for bed, halfway tucked in by the time I came home. 

I blinked. “How did you know?”

“It’s written all over your face.” 

“Ah.” I shrugged. “Well, yes. There were a few conditions, but nothing objectionable. I can’t tell you what, though.”

Setsuna nodded. In the darkness of the room, I couldn’t make out her expression easily without using mana reinforcement. 

_ ‘We all have our secrets, don’t we?’  _

But I don’t want to keep secrets, not from Setsuna. Mari’s secrets, I’ll keep to myself — they aren’t mine to give. But my own? Well, perhaps I’ve been a little too reticent from the girl I’ve entrusted with my life. And hadn’t I been thinking not so long ago that I wanted a way to connect with Setsuna?

“Setsuna, could I ask you for some advice?”

In lieu of an answer, she reached out to me. Understanding what she wanted, I quickly stripped down before slipping into bed with her. She cuddled into me immediately, a soft sigh escaping her as her cheek pressed against my clothed chest. 

“Yes,” she murmured. “Though I may not know the answer, you can always talk to me, Yuki.” 

For a moment, I stared at her, taken off guard. I’d thought she was upset with me, perhaps, but I guess that hadn’t been the case after all. She was acting more affectionate than usual, if anything, a soft smile on her face as she looked up at me. 

“Well,” I paused, trying to figure out how to say what I wanted to say. “Yesterday, Hikaru and I got into a bit of a...a dispute, I suppose you could say.” 

She stiffened. “Is that why you came home so hurt?” 

“Well...yes. I...can’t tell you about what exactly happened, but the reason we argued was...” I trailed off.

I couldn’t exactly tell Setsuna that the reason I’d pushed myself so hard was, in a roundabout way, to protect her. That would just make her feel worse about the whole affair. But I couldn’t — or rather, I didn’t want to lie to her. Maybe a half truth, instead—

“She doesn’t want you to be on Mari’s team, right?” Setsuna asked. 

“Yeah.” 

“And you insisted that it wouldn’t be a problem?”

“Mm.”

She stared at me quietly. “You aren’t weak, you know?”

_ Damn it. Of course she’d understand, even without me telling her. _

“I’m not strong enough, either,” I said softly. “Last night proved that to me all too well.”

“...I understand,” she said. “I don’t like it, but I understand. After all, I’d...” 

_ I’d do the same for you, after all. _

“If there’s anything I can do for you, Yuki, tell me, okay?”

I hummed thoughtfully. “Well, you can’t seal perishables in sealspace, right? I remember that from the Academy, at least.” 

Setsuna frowned. “What would you need that for?” 

“I don’t have time to eat dinner,” I explained. “Or, rather, to make it. I’m getting three hours of sleep at best, less if I make breakfast and lunch. And I can manage that if I have to, but it isn’t really good for me. Hikaru wants me to meet her at four, and the meetings run to midnight, so—”

“What is that woman thinking?” Setsuna hissed furiously. “That’s completely unreasonable!” 

“Eh,” I shrugged, “I don’t need sleep.”

She stared flatly at me. “You are not exactly a paragon of reasonableness.” 

I shrugged again. 

“Don’t worry about lunch and dinner. I’ll take care of that — and I’ll have some kind of leftovers or something perishable for you in the morning. But a seal for food, huh...?” Setsuna narrowed her eyes, then abruptly slipped off of me, landing on the floor with ease. “I can do it. I’ll do it now.” 

“What?” My hand grabbed hers. “It’s late, and not that urgent. You can worry about it whenever you have time, I’ll make—” 

She whirled around, her free hand glowing with blue mana, and rapped me on the head. 

I blacked out. 

...

...

...

“Wake up,” a familiar voice murmured, and so I did, snapping into an alert state before the rest of my body had finished processing everything around me. But it was just Setsuna, and I was in my bed, safe.

“Wha—?”

“It’s twenty minutes to four,” she continued. A scroll container slipped into my hands, the metal cool against my skin. “Your breakfast and dinner is in here. I have your lunch. Ignore the fancier script, the unsealing triggers are the same you’re used to, and don’t show anyone.”

I stared at her, stunned. There was a triumphant glint in her eyes. 

“You...did you just, in one night, invent a seal that violated the laws of seal-making?” I breathed out. 

She smiled. “Don’t show anyone,” she reminded me. “Now hurry up and get out of bed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've just uploaded the first chapter to Team Dragon. Old readers, you should have a real treat -- that story is going to be far different than the original (and end much more pleasantly, too!)
> 
> For newer readers, Team Dragon is actually written as a [i]gateway[/i] to Spellborne proper. What that means is that it's readable even if you've never read anything from Spellborne -- but readers of Spellborne are likely to get a lot more out of it. It features Sayaka as the main protagonist of the story, and as a result the story is generally brighter in tone than Spellborne. I strongly(!) suggest checking it out if you have the time and like the story, regardless of your feelings about Sayaka proper.
> 
> Oh, and if you want to hear more about Setsuna's story with her Pulser rifle, check out Reverie! That entire substory is covered in the Vibrancy story arc!


	19. (1.4.3) Faith, Part 3

#  **(1.4.3) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Faith, Part 3**

True to her word, Hikaru presented me with both a schedule and a proper Reverie Disorder treatment beating the next morning. Afterwards, though, I brought her up to speed on my conversation with Mari, though not the specific conditions of her agreement.

“Good work,” Hikaru said, sounding surprised. “And her conditions were not too onerous?”

“Not in the slightest,” I agreed. “Especially considering what she opens herself up to lose.” 

“Hm...” She looked contemplative for a moment, then shrugged. “Well, whatever. Her choice, I suppose. Think about what exactly you want your commands to be, and run them by me tomorrow so I can make sure there aren’t any loopholes. Well, if that’s all, enjoy your reprieve.”

“Reprieve?” I asked. “I have classes.” 

She smiled, showing teeth. “Assuming you aren’t busy this afternoon, we’ll be continuing your treatment. Reprieve is accurate.” 

...

Making sure no one was looking, I quickly slipped into the boy’s bathroom on the fourth floor — then I quickly unsealed the scroll container from my hand, popped open the container, unravelled the scroll, and briefly admired Setsuna’s skills, the ink written in graceful curves and sharp, elegant lines. My basic sealing understanding could barely understand what was going on with them, but I eventually found the trigger for the array and pulsed a bit of mana into it. 

Half of a warm, slightly toasted ham sandwich popped out of it. Surprised, I almost dropped it but managed to neatly catch it and stuff it into my mouth before I wrapped the scroll back into the container and sealed it back into my hand. 

Seconds later, the door swung open, and a boy with messy red hair walked into the bathroom. For a moment, we stared at each other in surprise before his gaze dropped to my sandwich.

“Dude, that’s disgusting.” 

I shrugged, quickly beginning to eat the sandwich. “Busy morning.”

“What? We haven’t even started class yet.” 

I swallowed. “You may not have,” I agreed, already halfway through the sandwich, “but I have.”

He shook his head. “Sure, whatever you say. Hey, you’re friends with Sayaka, right?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Friends, huh? Sure.” 

“Aw, shit, you two more than that, maybe? But you’re always with that quiet girl, so I thought...”

I snorted. “No, Sayaka and I are definitely just friends.” 

“Oh. Any tips on approaching her?” 

I swallowed the last of my sandwich. “Impress her. Now if you excuse me, I’d like to get to class.” 

“Yeah, sure. Thanks for the tip,” he said, sounding genuinely thankful as I slipped past him. 

I couldn’t help but hear him as I walked away, though—

“Impress her, huh...? Well, maybe if I...”

...

“Did it work?” Setsuna asked at lunch. As per the usual, we were tucked together on the rooftop, a picnic blanket spread out and the doors to the entrance sealed off. 

“Yep. It was even warm and everything.” I said, still lost in thought.

_ In hindsight, I guess it wasn’t surprising that the red-haired boy thought we were together. This rooftop has been inaccessible to others for how long, now?  _

“Good,” she said, clearly pleased as she opened her own scroll, revealing a pair of wooden food boxes filled with rice and fish. “I made more in the way of lunch than your breakfast since I thought you wouldn’t have much time to eat.” 

“Intuitive as always,” I said, patting her head. She smiled slightly, unsealing more boxes. 

“Eat up, Yuki. Dinner’s pretty small for the same reason, so you should get your fill now.” 

“Heh. But you do know that I can’t let you get away with what you did to me last night, right?” 

Her smile widened, becoming more genuine. “It was to take care of you, so whatever you do in revenge will still be worth it.”

My heart skipped a beat for no reason at all.

“Well, we’ll see,” I tried to say as stoically as possible.

She giggled.

“Stop laughing!” 

_ Setsuna really did have me wrapped around her finger, huh...? _

“So, just how’d you get that to work?” I ask, gesturing at the scroll. 

She smiled, pleased, and began to talk about something called a ‘stasis’ seal...

...

Mari intercepted us as Setsuna and I walked home from classes. 

“Yuki, Katsuo’s here, and he wants everyone,” she said without preamble.

“Damn. Alright, give us a minute to put our stuff away, and we’ll be there. In your house?”

“Yep.” 

“Alright, we’ll be there.” 

Soon enough, Setsuna and I found ourselves filing into Mari’s house. Katsuo was already there, lounging on one of Mari’s chairs.

“Good. Why don’t you all sit down and we’ll get started?” 

_ ‘I thought we were going to go through a team bonding exercise?’ _

_ ‘It was contingent on all parties having access to their mana’,  _ he’d replied.

I tensed up, drawing my mana into a ready state. To my annoyance, it was a bit more sluggish than usual, almost certainly a product of my interrupted meditation schedule. I’d need to fix that. 

Katsuo raised an eyebrow at me as Setsuna stiffened slightly, evidently sensing my mana surge. “I understand, but stand down.” 

“Huh?” Mari asked, confused.

“The last time we met, Katsuo said that we’d need our mana the next time we met as a group,” I said simply. “It pays to be prepared, doesn’t it? Not much that you need your mana for other than a fight.” 

“Oh, you think so?” Katsuo said idly. “Mari, name six uses of mana outside of combat.”

“Running away faster,” she said promptly, “building homes, enhanced farming, manaforging, empowering reinforcement seals, and heating water.” 

“That’s fair,” I acknowledged agreeably. “But in the context of a team bonding exercise?”

Our handler smirked, then unsealed a silver disc from his hand, holding it between his fingers. “These are a tool I invented in order to help gauge raw mana intensity. Before I leave I intend for everyone to use these to gauge their strength.” 

“...Fair enough.” 

“Those instincts will serve you well,” Katsuo said. “But if you’d like some wisdom, take this — don’t forget that there’s more to being a Lunari than to fighting.”

I glanced at Mari, who’d rattled off six uses before I’d thought of two. Apparently she’d learned that much earlier than I had. 

“But don’t we need to prioritize the combat aspects of being a Lunari first?” Setsuna asked. “Combat and perception?” 

“Good catch,” Katsuo said. “You already have a berserker on your team, so you need to learn about everything else.”

Mari winced. 

“Still, though, you aren’t wrong. Combat skills are indeed important, and there may come a time where you are separated from Mari. You must be able to stall, at the very least, until she comes to help. So to help with that I’ll be taking you all to a training ground where you three’ll be facing off against me. Nothing better than raw experience, as far as I’m concerned.” 

_ So much for my reprieve. _

“Well? Let’s get out there!” 

Soon enough we found ourselves outside, the three of us trailing our handler as he led us to the training ground. 

[Setsuna,] I tapped out. The sealer glanced towards me. [Walk slower.] 

With my other hand, I waved Mari back, the Stormweaver understanding instantly. Once we gained a bit of distance from our handler, I nodded in satisfaction.

“Brief her, Setsuna.” Then I split my mind, one part focused on the conversation and a much larger part of my mind focused on my body. 

Over time, the four fundamental steps of Manaweaving became a process as natural as breathing, and were rarely thought about as a result. Still, though, Hikaru had impressed upon me the importance of remembering them — of ‘deliberate action’ — and so I found myself constantly monitoring my mana circulation. That, in turn, had given me an excellent awareness over my own mana, and a sluggishness that most would have not even noticed was immediately pinpointed. 

“Mari, what do you know about Katsuo?” 

“Well, he’s a Steel Aberrant, isn’t he? Or, well, a Metal one. I’m pretty sure the Steel thing is just him exaggerating a little. That means his strengths lie firmly in hand-to-hand combat, especially reinforcement. You two probably won’t be able to hurt him, even with reinforcement, so you’ll need to stick to other things.” 

Breathe, Root, Flow, Spark. I seized control of the mana in my body and flowed it through my Root, acclimating my mana once more to my body. In moments, I had resolved the issues with my manaflow. 

“So what’s effective against him, then?” 

“Well...not much, to be honest. He’s super resistant to blunt force and very resistant to most forms of piercing force. Poison would be the easiest way, but he mentioned he was a healer, so he’s probably able to handle most of that. Maybe just about all of it, considering it’s one of his big weaknesses. Yuki’s Water will probably be more effective than his Wind — indirect attacks are best — but Wind won’t be terrible against him, either. Either way, he’ll play more of a distracting role, I think?” 

Next, I pulled on the ambient mana, drawing it to me. This deep in the city, it was tainted by the faint imprints of dozens of Users. No matter. I cycled it through his body, forcing it through my Root in order to ‘recolor’ it to suit me. 

“Alright. How about explosions? I can do explosions.” 

“Eeeh...maybe? Oh, Metal Aberrants are masters of materialization, and territory control. He’ll probably play defensively. That’s the kind of thing I specialize at breaking down, though, so make sure you don’t get too close to me.” 

“Alright, I’m done,” I muttered softly, feeling the mana settle into my body. Then, a bit louder, but still softly enough to barely be a murmur, I put in my own thoughts. “Explosions are still good — doesn’t matter if he can tank it or not, it’s loud, bright, and disorienting. We’ve already established you’re taking point on this, Mari, so Setsuna and I will be setting up opportunities for you to try to take him down, at least at first.”

_ He’d be prepared for her. That was why Mari would only be the first step, not our trump card.  _

Mari blinked. “You say that like you’ve walked through an explosion before.”

I carefully controlled my expression. “I know someone who has.” 

_ Me. But it was probably better to pretend that I meant Hikaru. _

“Ah,” the Stormweaver said, remembering my association with her childhood demon. “Right. Well, Setsuna’ll be making explosions, and you’re going to use, what, your Water?” 

“At first, yes,” I replied, already beginning the aspect shift to the proper element. “Since it takes me longer to shift to, and we haven’t ruled out its usefulness, it makes more sense to start on. I don’t anticipate either of my elements being especially useful — or rather, they could be useful, but I doubt he’ll let me leverage them properly. At best, I’ll be a temporary distraction.” I grimaced. “Most of what I contribute to this will...probably be leadership and strategy.” 

_ Still too weak, Yuki. _

“That’s what we need,” Setsuna said softly. “I’m not a leader, and Mari is...” she trailed off pointedly.

“A bit of a berserker,” Mari said with a lopsided smile.

“Exactly. Yuki, we need you.” 

_ They’re right. Setsuna might be saying that to make me feel better, but I can trust that much — that she was telling me the truth, at least as far as she saw it. _

Mari nodded. “Your job isn’t to take point. It’s to make sure that we’re used correctly.” 

A bit blunt — Setsuna winced a bit — but true, nonetheless.

“Thanks,” I said quietly, shoving all my weak thoughts away. “Mari, he’s going to know that you’ll be taking point. No avoiding it. How does your power work with water?” 

“Not as good as you’re hoping,” she replied. “Storm isn’t really proper electricity. It’ll conduct, but even a fatal amount of electricity will be reduced to a mild shock after a few meters at most. Mostly, I’ll just evaporate it. If you put a lot of mana into it, then it won’t evaporate as easily, but it still won’t be that useful as a conductor.” 

“Alright,” I mused, briefly splitting my mind to think.

_ Would Katsuo know that kind of detailed information, though? I might be able to use it as a feint. Then again, could I waste time with something like that? I think my gameplan here has to be similar to the one I utilized against Hikaru. Hit fast, hit hard. Capitalize on the first available opportunity.  _

That much I didn’t say out loud. I wasn’t sure if he could hear us or not — perhaps he could — and if so, that wasn’t information I wanted to give to him. 

_ Well, if he could hear us, perhaps he’ll think that my earlier words will make me uncertain.  _

“Setsuna.” The sealer glanced towards me. [“Compete for territory control. Distractions where you can, but let me be annoying. You’ll be better making sure he’s not comfortable standing still. Surprise him and make him shift from his preferred style.”] 

She nodded. [I’ll do what I can,] she signed back. 

[You probably won’t be able to force him out of his space, but it’ll pull his mind off of us. With me playing distraction, that’s three fronts he’ll have to defend against.]

Territory control was more than competing for a certain position, after all. It was about controlling the mana in an area, which would both strengthen and hasten your own Manaweaving while simultaneously dampening the ability of others to assault it. Earthweavers, and Aberrations with similar groundings — which Steel  _ was _ — could do it the easiest, while Windweavers like me literally could not if they tried. The best we could do was saturate the air with raw mana, which was wasteful, but was about as close as we could get.

Setsuna, though, was a simple and efficient counter to that kind of combat style simply because she could fill a place with explosions. He couldn’t control a territory if there was nothing left to control, after all.

“I think that’s about all I can say, unless you guys have more information to volunteer?” 

They shook their heads. 

“Just be ready to adapt. His strengths and weaknesses are only postulated and we don’t know what his other skills might be besides what he told us, so just be flexible. We’ll have to do our best to surprise him, since he’s probably used to handling more brute force than we can put out.” 

[Are you familiar with Battlefield Sealing?] I asked Setsuna, tapping on my leg.

[A little. He can do a lot with it, though.] 

[Any advice?]

“Avoid blocking head on, especially projectiles,” Setsuna said out loud. “He might leave a nasty surprise with his sealing expertise. Generally safer to avoid them entirely.” 

Shortly thereafter, we arrived at the same training ground I’d fought Mari in, Katsuo turning and waiting patiently for us to catch up a little. Once we were about ten meters away from him, he started talking. 

“Now that you’ve had a chance to strategize,” he said sardonically, “you should be informed of the rules. And by that, I mean there aren’t really any. Come at me to kill, but do try not to hurt your teammates. Don’t hesitate, because I won’t think twice about putting you down and putting you down hard. Come at me when you’re ready.”

His speech done, he cracked his fingers and spread his legs slightly, evidently preparing himself for Mari. I contemplated his stance for a moment, then smiled.

“Orders, captain?” Mari asked softly. 

I nodded in satisfaction, bending my knees in preparation to move. “Setsuna is going to help me create an opening. When you see it, take it.” 

Then I lunged forward, immediately unsheathing the sword at my waist as I did and slashing diagonally at him. He quirked an eyebrow, raising his arm in the path of my blade.

Unsurprisingly, it didn’t go through — and not only that, the impact was so jarring that I was nearly disarmed, a harsh metallic ring filling the air. I’d expected something like that, though, and so my other hand rose, Water gathered in my hand. To my shock, it was forcefully dissipated before I could finish shaping the technique, and a moment later a powerful fist slammed into my stomach, lifting me off the ground and into the air before launching me back.

It’s not the hardest I’ve been hit — Hikaru had set that particular record — but it drove the breath from my lungs and would have certainly inflicted internal injury if I hadn’t reinforced myself. I landed a moment later and was promptly caught off guard when Katsuo rushed forward, apparently with no intention of sticking to a territory-based style at all. 

From behind me, Setsuna hurled two long blades to the left and right of me, forcing Katsuo back as a wall of translucent blue light ripples out from the blades to form a barrier, separating me from him. Narrowing his eyes, Katsuo drew his arm back, intent on shattering the barrier with a single hard hit. Realizing what was about to happen, I pushed as much mana as I could into my blade, the metal humming with blue-tinted mana. 

Katsuo thrust his hand forward. Thin metal chains suddenly appeared in a flash of blue light, connecting the hilts of the blades to Setsuna’s hands, and a hole in the barrier opened up as Katsuo’s fist would have passed through it. The second his hand was through, the barrier abruptly reasserted itself, molding around his wrist and locking it in place.

_ Trapped!  _

I lunged forward, both hands on my sword, and stabbed down with all my might. 

The first time I’d attempted to cut the Steel Aberrant, it hadn’t been with my full strength, nor had I committed as much mana to reinforcing my blade as I could have. I’d completely expected him to block, after all, and committing too hard to the first strike would have been beyond foolish. I put just enough effort to force him to regard the attack as threatening, and that had been all.

This time, though, I wasn’t holding back at all, and my blade sank into the flesh of his hand. In a shower of blood and shattered bone, I tore the blade down and through his hand. 

A moment later, Mari finished getting into position and raced around the barrier, Storm sparking off of her and one eye a violent, glowing blue. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Katsuo twisted, dislocating his shoulder in order to block her flying kick. With a thunderous sound, the two connected as Setsuna dropped her barrier, the Steel Aberrant sent flying back across the ground.

Mari staggered, collapsing backwards. Her hands moved to clasp the leg she kicked him with. 

“What happened?!” I called out, moving forward to support her. She waved a hand to ward me off. 

“Think my leg is fractured,” she hissed. “I reinforced myself, but...” 

I nodded sympathetically. “Give me your leg.” 

“What? You can’t heal—” 

I shook my head sharply. “Numbing.”

“I’ll do it,” she rebuffed me, pressing both hands to her leg. A burst of Storm rippled down her arms and into her skin.

“Are you insane?” I hissed, grimacing at the smell of burnt flesh. 

She stood up, favoring her other leg. “Just doing what I must.”

“Yuki!” Setsuna shouted, and that was all the warning I had. 

It was enough. I hadn’t taken my attention off of Katsuo completely, not even for a single moment — two separate thought-streams let me process him standing up, his ruined hand glowing with blue mana, as well as his resulting struggle against Setsuna to control the surrounding territory — and so I was able to see the knife that slipped past Setsuna’s barrier, aimed at my throat.

_ He really wasn’t pulling any punches. _

My sword lashed out, deflecting the knife upwards. A burst of water sent it further away from me, and just in time — it exploded a moment later, the shrapnel deflecting off of my reinforced skin. Mari snarled, her intense mana rippling off of her and cracking the earth underneath her. I flinched, stepping away from her as all the hairs on my arms stood up, then covered my eyes with my arm as she raced forward, dirt flying up in her wake.

A moment later, Setsuna jumped backwards, a cloud of smoke covering her escape. “This isn’t working,” she said, nursing a small cut to her arm. “He’s deflecting my explosives with his own. I can barely slow him down.” 

I press a hand over the laceration. “Right. Try to avoid getting injured, then — I’m switching to Wind.” When I took my hand away, the gash had been sealed shut. 

“Scorched earth?” she asked as the smoke was forcefully cleared by a clash between the two juggernauts in front of us. Mari’s body was wreathed by her Storm, and Katsuo’s body was covered in a metallic sheen that apparently let him trade blows on even footing with her, his hand apparently fully healed.

“Best shot,” I agreed. “I’ll need to stay out of his territory, though — he disrupted my cast before I could finish.” 

Setsuna hurled a red-tipped knife. Katsuo broke off from Mari, giving himself ample time to dodge it. 

“A blank,” she murmured, a small smile on her face. “He can’t actually sense the seals, so he has to treat everything I do with respect. In that case...” 

Without another word, Setsuna ran into the fight, apparently with every intention of hurling herself into the clash. I blanched, then raced after her, Wind beginning to swirl around me. As she approached, Katsuo fired off a sharp steel beam at her, aiming to impale her through the chest. She raised her hand, a blast of wind erupting out from a seal on her palm and sending it skittering away. 

Mari was hurled away a moment later, sparks flying off of her and leaving Setsuna’s path clear. The sealer lunged, a short-sword clearly engraved with seals poised to stab Katsuo—

Almost contemptuously, his hand snapped out to grab her wrist, crushing it and forcing her to drop the blade as she cried out in agony. 

I could see the exact moment he’d written her off as a threat, preparing to throw her aside while his eyes locked on me.

Setsuna noticed too — had been counting on it — and kneed him in the stomach. It wasn’t much — to Katsuo, who was reinforced so much that even Mari struggled to dent his armor, it wasn’t even noticeable.

But Setsuna didn’t need her hands to print seals.

Katsuo was sent rocketing back, sheer force erupting from his stomach. Setsuna twisted from his grip, jarring her shattered wrist and forcing another cry from her mouth, but she was free — free to toss a seal container above her with her free hand before rolling away to the side. It was a weak throw, barely enough to keep it up in the air, but it was enough — enough for me, still following behind her, to spin, Wind rippling around me, before slamming my blade with as much force as I could manage into the projectile and sending it blasting off towards Katsuo. 

To Katsuo’s credit, he disarmed Setsuna’s seal trap quickly, dissolving the metal shielding his abdomen to disrupt the seal. However, it took him a split second of thought — long enough for the container to reach him and explode in an earth-shaking, fiery explosion. 

A quick burst of focused mana deafened and blinded me momentarily, shielding myself from the worst of the effects. I started moving towards Setsuna, eyes warily locked on the cloud of smoke and flame when I realized that I had lost track of Mari.

An electric-blue blur darted into the flames. 

“What the—”

And was promptly hurled back out towards me, mana flickering around her. Quickly raising my hands, I caught her mid-air. Electricity rippled off of her, burning my skin, so I shoved all my available mana into reinforcement before dropping her as fast as I could. She landed on her hands and knees, separating from me quickly — thankfully, the burns she inflicted were slight as a result of my quick reaction. 

“Mari, are you still good?” I asked cautiously. It took her a moment to respond, almost as if she hadn’t heard me, but when her head snapped towards me, I was relieved to see two crimson irises staring back. 

“He’s strong,” she panted, one arm hanging limply at her side. “Really strong. I...I’m sorry. I don’t think I can beat him.” 

_ That was okay, Mari. I wouldn’t be making the mistake of forgetting the stakes of combat again. And in this case?  _

“Perhaps not, but we’ve put in our best shot, and that’s enough for now,” I said softly, kneeling down next to my partner before propping her against me and gingerly examining her hand. She’d fallen unconscious — unsurprising, considering the state of her wrist. 

_ That was beyond my ability to heal easily. Thankfully, Katsuo was evidently a specialist healer.  _

“Not bad,” Katsuo’s voice said from within the smoke cloud. A moment later, he strode out — to my dismay, completely unharmed. “Not half damn bad.” 

I studied his body language for a moment, then glanced over at Mari. She was tense, apparently ready to throw herself back at him. Mana began building up around her— 

“No, Mari.” 

She glanced at me, protest in her eyes. “But—”

“Setsuna is seriously hurt. If you want me to protect your special people, you help protect mine.” I stared her down coolly. “And you’re hurt too. This is just a spar, Mari. It’s okay to lose. Now stand down.”

_ Katsuo obviously didn’t intend to continue fighting without provocation.  _

“...Fine...” she reluctantly agreed, her gathered mana sinking back into her.

“I see you have come to an understanding since the last time we’d met,” Katsuo observed. “Very good. Still very raw, but for a rough plan in just a few minutes, that was much better than I could have expected out of any fresh team, and more than I could have expected of those even higher than that.” 

Setsuna’s eyes snapped open, then clenched closed as she hissed in pain. A moment later, though, they flickered open again, her eyes locking firmly on Katsuo as the man stepped forward. 

His lips curled into the faintest of smiles. “You are now a team. And now I am willing to accept you. Congratulations. From this point on, underneath the leadership of Handler Takeshi Katsuo, eighth-star Steel Aberrant, Mari Aono, Setsuna Tsuri, and Yuki of Alune...you are now officially members of the Special Operations Unit, Codename Team Hurricane!” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go Team Hurricane!  
> Also, if you haven't read 'Team Dragon' yet, you definitely should! 
> 
> (If you're impatient, Setsuna's stasis seal is talked in the Vibrancy subseries of Reverie. It'll be explored more canonically as well, but it's not very important information now). 
> 
> Two more chapters and Act 1 is done!


	20. (1.4.4) Faith, Part 4

#  **(1.4.4) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Faith, Part 4**

With Team Hurricane formed, little changed in our daily lives. Setsuna and I were still Academy students, after all. But there were a few notable changes. 

Firstly, Mari became a somewhat regular fixture at our house, popping over at odd times and days of the week and usually not staying for long. I got used to making extra food at dinner, and brought food over whenever she didn’t show up. She was always appreciative of it and always insisted on paying me back, but I never took the money. 

Eventually she gave up on trying, but later I found out that she just went to Setsuna instead, who took her payment, and by simple virtue of our combined finances became me taking her money. 

Secondly, Hikaru sharply cut down on our ultra-intense schedule, letting me know via a short letter in the mail. I asked her about it, but she simply cited her duties to the state and we left it at that. I was both relieved and dismayed — the sheer amount of time we had planned to spend together would have obstructed my other studies, and my release from those obligations allowed me to spend more time with Setsuna.

Eventually, I brought up the idea of being adopted by Hikaru to her. Her reaction was about as well as I’d anticipated, which was to say, rather poorly. I agreed to not think about it further, at least not for now.

Despite the delay, treatment for Reverie Disorder went smoothly. Though I would occasionally space out, I was able to pull myself out with ease if there was an incoming threat. The substantially increased intuitive reflexes I developed were also welcome, though it led to me nearly punching Sayaka in the face on accident once. 

Speaking of Sayaka...

“—I hadn’t taken her for the type, but apparently she’s really good with kids! Well, I guess it makes sense in hindsight, but who would’ve thought a Lunari-in-training could have become a babysitter?” Sayaka rambled on as we walked through the streets, away from the Academy. Since Setsuna was busy, apparently working with the boy from the blacksmith’s on some project or another, it was just the two of us.

“She did drop out, though, so it isn’t like she was really a proper fit,” I pointed out.

The Mindscape was an excellent tool for handling talkative people. Using it, I could seamlessly track what others were saying while also losing myself in my thoughts. 

“Well, no matter. She’s safe now, and that’s what matters, isn’t it? More importantly, a little sealer confirmed to me that you got on a team way ahead of schedule. When were you gonna tell me about that, huh?” 

“Setsuna told you?” I asked, surprised. 

“Yep. And you’re avoiding the question!”

“It was going to be a surprise,” I replied, only half serious. “Oh well.”

“So who is it? Who’s the third person on your team?”

“She’s a Storm Aberrant,” I said, gauging her reaction curiously. 

She didn’t disappoint, recoiling in shock. “Woah. Isn’t that...dangerous?”

“A bit, but I’ll manage.”

The blunette frowned, but seemed relieved by my indifference. “Well, if you say so. Am I gonna get to meet her anytime soon?” 

“Hm...why not?” I shrugged as we walked down my home street. “I think you guys might even get along.”

“Really? What’s she like?” 

I grinned. “Intimidating. Very intimidating. She almost killed me the first time we met.”

“W-Wait, seriously?” 

“Yeah. I broke eight bones that day. Still scares me a little just to think about it.” 

“W-Wha? Uh, hold on, maybe I don’t—” 

I grinned, seizing her arm with my hand. 

“No, don’t be afraid. Come on. You wanted to meet her so badly, right? Well, let’s go!” 

“Noooooooo! Wait, hold on, we can talk about this!”

“No, don’t worry. Look, she’s my neighbor, so we’re already here!” I knocked loudly on the door. “Mari, you in? I have someone here to see you.”

“Huh? That you, Yuki?” 

“Yes!” 

“Okay, on my way!”

_ Ayaka must be in the basement already _ . 

Mari opened the door a few seconds later, just as Sayaka managed to tear her hand out of my grasp. 

“Uh, hey. Who’s this?” Mari asked, blinking. 

Sayaka looked like she was thinking about running away, so I thought quickly, drawing on my vast experience in tricking people into staying in uncomfortable situations.

“This is my so-called rival, Sayaka Hoshiko. The only thing she’s competent at is Windweaving, but I’m much better at it than she is.” I watched, suppressing a smile as she swelled in outrage. “For some reason, she keeps calling us rivals, but I think she just reads too much—”

“First of all,” Sayaka snapped, “need I remind you which of the two of us is ranked higher in Windweaving?! It’s me! And if you want me to send you ass-over-head in the training fields, we can go right now! And secondly—” 

“Sayaka, this is the Stormweaver Mari Aono,” I continued smoothly, cutting her off. “She specializes in hitting things really, really hard, like girls who make claims that they can’t back up with their fists.” 

Mari tried to hide a smile and failed. 

Sayaka’s eyebrow twitched. “You wanna go?! Because we can! Right now! I’m ready!” 

“Sorry, Mari,” I apologized, “it seems I have to put someone in their place. I’ll have to hang out with you some other time. If Setsuna gets back first, could you let her know that I’ll be at Sayaka’s house. I’ll need to carry her back after I knock her out, but that might take a while since she’s kind of heavy...” 

The blunette fumed. “You. Me. Training ground five. Now.” And without another word, she stormed off. 

Mari snickered. “Smooth, captain. Real smooth.” 

“It’s a gift,” I nodded, a small smirk on my face. “Well, you heard the girl. I’d better go before she blows my house over.” 

She shook her head, grinning. “Good luck with Hurricane Hoshiko.” 

...

The last few days went by smoothly, and soon enough we arrived at our graduation exams. They were nothing complicated, simply a long barrage of written and oral tests followed by a few Manaweaving demonstrations and physical spars. 

For the most part, I breezed through them, placing respectably in everything I qualified for and taking the overall second-place rank. Sayaka still managed to take the top rank in both hand-to-hand combat and Windweaving, though — and, to my eternal shame, was the first-placed student. Setsuna, unsurprisingly, had the strongest academics in the entire class, and performed so well that she was ranked fifth in the class. For someone without any natural mana of their own, that was beyond exceptional. 

“At this point,” I’d muttered to her on the way home, “you’re basically a Sealweaver.” She’d seemed pretty pleased with the compliment, cheeks reddening ever so slightly as she stared at the small badge in her hands. It wasn’t much — just a circle of black metal with a single bronze star in its center. 

But it was irrefutable proof that the two of them had ascended in the eyes of society, becoming fully-fledged Lunari — and, with that, becoming legal adults. 

With that taken care of, there had only been one thing left to do. 

...

The Blood Vow. 

It was an intimate affair, but shockingly simple. Hikaru had spent some time coaching us both on the process — and it had been funny watching Mari warily watch the woman, apparently ready to flee at the slightest hint of danger — so we’re well prepared for it. 

Either way, though, we’ve been left isolated in Hikaru’s basement, of all places. I hadn’t known she’d had one in the first place, but apparently it was the same place she’d done a few rituals to herself, so she knew it was easy to run a ritual in. It was a small room encased in sealed stone, unlit save for a single wax candle burning merrily in the center. On either end of it, Mari and I faced each other, her face barely visible in the candlelight, with silver knives in our hands. 

“This is kind of eerie,” Mari whispered. 

I smiled slightly. “What’s wrong? Afraid of a little magic?”

“W-Wait, is this actually magical?”

I snorted. “Of course not. But unless we go to war with Arcacia, this is probably the most magic you’ll ever see in your lifetime.” 

“But you just said it’s not magical!”

“It’s a ritual derived and/or stolen from magi. It’s almost magical.” 

“Uh, no. No it is not.” 

I smiled slightly. My experiences with talking to people over the last few months had taught me how distracting people with inane banter helped them forget about the stress of other things, and Mari didn’t seem worried at all anymore.

“Well, if it isn’t magical at all, then I’m sure we’ll have no problems. Are you ready to begin?” 

“I...about as ready as I can get. I’ll...try not to shock you, but...” 

“But you might?” I asked. “Don’t worry about it.” 

As it turned out, one of the main reasons that Mari deliberately avoided physical contact with others was because she wasn’t completely sure that she could avoid shocking them. Even though she hadn’t had an incident in a while, it was always safer not to touch someone. She still sparked whenever startled, and sometimes when emotional, and with her raw power, mistakes could range from mild annoyance to outright maiming someone.

“But—”

“Seriously, don’t worry about it. Unless you make a deliberate attempt to kill me, I’ll be fine. And yes, that’s related to the classified information which I’ll be telling you about after the Vow.”

In truth, the thought of willingly telling someone else about my Aberration had me more than a little nervous, bound or not. I’d spent most of the three months I’d known her trying to find something wrong about her, something that would let me call the whole thing off. I’d even been preparing the paperwork to move abruptly, and had worked with Hikaru on a back-up plan, something she’d been very approving of.

But I hadn’t found a single damn thing. Despite our rocky first impression, Mari did seem to be a surprisingly kind and gentle person, laid-back despite my regular teasing of her and often with a smile or a grin on her face. She was sociable, surprisingly honorable, and, Aberrative insanity aside, apparently emotionally stable and appropriately mature for her age. And she was fun to hang around, too. Even Setsuna seemed a bit livelier in her presence. 

“If you say so,” she frowned, but shrugged, apparently willing to take me at my word. 

Perhaps I’d be a little less suspicious of her if she had a more abrasive personality, but no, the problem that I was having with her was that she was far too nice. I hadn’t had a single issue with her behavior since the time she’d nearly caved in my chest.

_ Which was a big deal, but... _

“Alright,” I whispered. “Let’s begin.”

She nodded, taking a deep breath. Then, as one, we cut both of our right hands and clasped them together, blood steadily dripping on the ground below us. 

With those wounds pressed together, our energies began to intermingle. I suppressed a flinch as I came into full contact with her Storm for the first time, a small spike of pain lancing through my entire body.

Compared to a shattered skeleton, though, it didn’t hurt at all, so I ignored the steadily increasing pain as her mana began to flow into me through the bridge we had created. It was uncomfortable, and dangerous — forget the mana, her blood getting into my body would cause serious problems if it wasn’t managed, but all of that could be temporarily ignored. 

I could see her eyes widen as my own mana flowed into her, the realization slamming into her as she realized exactly what I was. But her face didn’t reflect even the slightest bit of fear, nothing but resolve burning in her eyes. 

“Mari, I promise that I will not intentionally inflict harm on your adopted little sister, Ayaka, save for a circumstance where the harm I inflict would be less than the consequences of inaction, or if it would lead to the serious injury or death of Setsuna.”

The words are almost the same as the ones I’d given her three months ago, modified slightly to give me a bit more leeway. I pushed the intent of them through our connection, felt her own spirit resonate with them through the bridge of our mana.

She swallowed. “Yuki, I will follow any order you give me.”

_ What the — that was far more encompassing than I thought she’d offer! _

“So long as you make every reasonable effort to protect Ayaka, I’ll obey unconditionally. I’ll give my everything to you. But even after I die, Yuki, you still have to protect her. Protect her in my place, please,” she pleaded with me. 

I felt her intent cut into me, a sense of an almost desperate desire to save Ayaka, the same way I felt about Setsuna, and I understood with a sudden clarity just how far she was willing to go. That she would willingly throw herself into my hands, and damn the consequences, if it meant that Ayaka had a better chance. 

I understood. 

“The same for Setsuna, if I die, and I’ll accept that,” I whispered.

She nodded fiercely. “Then I accept the Vow!” 

“As do I.” I said firmly, her crimson eyes locking on me. We both reached out with our mana, electric-blue and sky-blue light coalescing around our wrists, binding them together as the sound of crackling electricity filled my ears. Her mana bore into me, searing through my body and evaporating my blood. In an instant, I became lightheaded as the mana reached its peak, nearly losing consciousness entirely, but I forced myself through it. 

_ This was what it was like to live with the Storm? How? How could she bear it?  _

Through the pain and the dizziness, I felt the exact moment the Vow took. Something different, something deeper than our mana responded, rushing through my blood, through my mana, and into Mari before I could react. An intense shock tore through me a moment later, scorching me inside and out as the mana rapidly diffused into my entire body. 

I grit my teeth and released my iron-clad control over my powers, letting my regeneration come out to play. In an instant, my Ice rippled through my body and back down into the connection, cooling the burns in an instant before a second pulse broke them down into Ice, and a third converted it into new flesh.The fourth pulse nearly slammed me into unconsciousness as Ice filled my veins, my breath coming out in a fine mist, but the fifth transformed it all into blood, and took almost all of my mana with it. Thankfully, the worst of it was over by then, so I reined my powers back in as the mana chaining us together dissolved into motes of energy. Those, in turn, dissipated harmlessly into the air. Soon, the room grew heavy with charged mana.

Gasping, I let go of Mari’s hand and collapsed to my knees, belatedly realizing that I had clenched my teeth so hard together that I’d cracked a few. Moments later, I cringed as they put themselves back together, hot bursts of sharp pain slamming into my brain. 

“Y-Yuki!” Mari gasped, catching me before I pitched forward entirely. I could barely feel her arms around me, my whole body still rather numb. My regeneration couldn’t fix that easily, and I wouldn’t let it anyways — my body was all but drained of energy, and drawing in new mana with my nerves this fried was a gamble, at best. 

No, all I’d need was a good night’s sleep. 

“I’m okay,” I rasped out, my throat achingly dry. “Told you...I’d be fine.” 

“You — you’re obviously hurt!” she protested. “Can you stand, or do you want me to carry you?!” 

“Give me a moment,” I said as evenly as possible, flinching as another spike of pain shot through me. My hands instinctively dug into her shoulder, but she bore the pain without a word, pushing me back so that she could see me. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, eyes wet. “I’m sorry. Please be okay.” 

“Mari,” I groaned. “I’m fine. Stop worrying about it. Look.” I lifted a hand, the hand I’d used for the Blood Vow. Though I wasn’t letting the bulk of my Ice run free anymore, I still had enough mana left to seal up the cut, letting Mari watch as Ice knitted my wounds back together. 

“So you really are one, then...” she breathed. “An Iceweaver.” 

“Mm. And that means I have a regenerative factor, so what Storm I absorbed isn’t going to leave lasting damage. So stop worrying about me. I can take quite a bit worse than that.” 

Using my Veil too much might have interfered with the completion of the Blood Vow, so to play it safe, I hadn’t let myself rely on it.

“But I thought...?” Mari trailed off.

“That Iceweavers were executed on sight?” I smiled sardonically. “I just haven’t been caught yet. But I’m working on some ways to make sure that, if I do, it isn’t a big deal.”

“Like Blood Vowing to a Storm Aberrant?” Mari asked, a strange tone in her voice.

My eyes widened. “No. I...huh, that’s not a half-bad idea, but it wasn’t what I was thinking of.” 

_ Hikaru may have, though. If Mari’s important enough to keep alive and controlled, then by Vowing to her, I become valuable too. Was that her plan? _

“I believe you,” the Stormweaver said, smiling slightly, and I realized that she’d been checking to see if I’d been using her like that. “Now, I’m sure you have some orders for me?”

I nodded. “I want to test to make sure the Vow worked. So, Mari, I want you to look me in the eyes. Good, very good. Now...Mari, I order you to tell me what color your underwear is today.”

Something subtle flitted through and out of me, far too fast for me to even comprehend. 

“White,” Mari said instantly, then flinched. “W-W-Wait, what the hell?!” 

_ That was definitely a genuine reaction. _

“May I check?” 

“Hell no!” she protested, shaking her head rapidly.

“Good,” I said thoughtfully. “It seems that I have to explicitly give an order for you to follow it. That makes things both simpler and harder.” 

“Harder?”

I nodded. “I’ll have to explicitly give you an order to snap you out of a potential breakdown. But it stops anything stupid from happening with an order I didn’t mean to give you. One more test, then. Ready?”

She audibly gulped. “Okay.”

“Mari, I order you to tell me how you truly feel about my Aberration.” 

Another flicker. Despite the fact that I was looking for it, though, I wasn’t able to identify what it could possibly be. 

“It doesn’t matter to me,” she said, without even the slightest pause. “I am worried about your mental state, but you seem fine and I think that Setsuna is grounding you enough to protect you, so as of right now, I have no problem with it at all.” 

I raised an eyebrow. “The fact that it’s illegal doesn’t bother you in the slightest?”

Mari shook her head. “Long ago, I made a promise to myself to do what was right. I never promised to do what was legal.” 

I eyed her thoughtfully, but if she was lying, I certainly couldn’t see it in the dim lighting of the room. She really didn’t seem to care in the slightest. 

_ Was it because she was an Aberrant, too?  _

“Right. Then, Mari, are you ready for your orders?”

She nodded firmly.

“Here are your orders. Without my explicit permission, you are not to willingly tell anyone about your blood-bound status, or say anything that you know might lead to someone identifying your blood-bound status. Unless not doing so would lead to your immediate death, you are not to tell anyone unwillingly, either. Without my explicit permission, you are not to willingly tell anyone about my Aberration, or say anything you know might lead to someone identifying my Aberrative status. Unless not doing so would lead to your immediate death, you are also not to tell anyone unwillingly.”

With every order, I could feel a tightening on the bond between us. It was a subtle feeling, impossible to describe properly — a sixth sense that I couldn’t properly identify.

_ Those two big secrets have been protected. Now to secure them _ . 

“Within reason, you cannot make any attempt to indirectly aid anyone in finding out about either of the two things mentioned above. If you find out that anyone is attempting to find out about either of those two things, tell me as soon as you can without endangering yourself or without violating a previous order. Without my explicit permission, you can’t tell anyone about these orders. If you find any loophole in these orders that would allow you to violate the intent of them, you must tell me about them as soon as you can without endangering yourself or violating a previous order.” 

_ That should be good, right?  _

The Blood Vow connecting us felt almost tangible by then. I wondered what would happen if I kept on adding orders, then immediately dismissed the thought as dangerous and overly suicidal. Hikaru might know the answer, and playing around with something I barely understood was stupidly risky. 

_ It seemed like only orders that had a prolonged duration ‘added’ to the weight of the Vow meaningfully. I’d felt the small weight of the other orders, but that had passed immediately. What if I was at the limit of my Vow, and I gave her another order? Would it snap?  _

“Yuki,” Mari said, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Is that it?”

I nodded. “I can’t think of anything else. Can you?”

She smiled crookedly. “Can I think of any other order I’d like to be put under?”

“...Well, when you put it like that...”

“Can’t you make me unable to lose control?”

I shook my head. “Sometimes losing control is a good thing. If it turns out to be necessary, I will, but I don’t want you to stumble at a critical time.” 

Mari nodded, and it was only then that I realized that she was shivering slightly.

_ Why was she — oh, of course. The mana in the air was tainted quite a bit with Ice, and in a small room like this, it must be suffocating her. But she couldn’t just flood the room with Storm because it would be uncomfortable to me. Idiot. _

“Shall we head up?” I offered. “Hikaru probably wants to know—” 

I didn’t even finish before she nodded far more energetically than the situation required. 

_ Sometimes, being proven right kind of sucked.  _

...

Hikaru took one look at me before shaking her head and telling me to debrief later, leaving the two of us to walk home. It was rather slow-going, though — my body was still shaking, frustratingly slow to respond to my commands, and in under a minute Mari offered to have me ride on her back. 

“Sure. Not worried about shocking me?” I teased lightheartedly, accepting the offer without a second thought. A moment later, I realized how offensive that kind of joke might be, and immediately regretted it. 

“You took a lot worse recently,” Mari pointed out, apparently unfazed. “I’m a lot less scared of hurting you in particular, now. Now hurry up and get on my back,” she said lightly, bending down. 

Wincing slightly, I moved forward and wrapped my arms around her shoulders and my legs around her waist, and she lifted me up without even the slightest bit of effort.

“Wow. You really are strong, aren’t you?” I said, mildly impressed despite myself. I could lift my weight too, even without mana, but not as easily as she made it look.

“Of course I am. You might be surprised to hear this, but I’m a bit of a close-combat specialist,” Mari said dryly. “I won’t say that I was beating him by any means, but I was able to hold my ground against an eighth-star close-combat specialist Steel Aberrant without tapping into the peak of my powers. I might not be good at much, but what I can do, I can do well.”

That was a good way to put it, wasn’t it? Setsuna was like that too, with her seals, and I...

I hadn’t developed my Ice abilities nearly as much as I’d like, because I couldn’t. I didn’t even know just what I could do. What could a peak Ice Aberrant even do? I had no idea. I only had the skills of Hikaru, Katsuo, and Mari to reference. 

Of those, Katsuo’s unique skill-set — materialization, reinforcement, healing — was the most like what I could do. But he was so advanced that he could trade blows with and outright defeat Mari on equal footing in her own specialty. Certainly he had the edge of experience and age, but...

Once again, I faded into my thoughts, letting the gentle bounce of Mari’s footsteps lull me into complacency.

_ There were some things... _

I remembered distinctly the feeling of my soul being held against my will.

_ Some things were impossible to reach with something like experience and age.  _

How could even a decade of experience compare to someone tearing your soul out of your body with just a look? How could one even begin to compete against something like that? 

_ Hikaru wasn’t just stronger than me. It was as if she existed on another dimension of power altogether. Like she really was a Goddess.  _

And here I’d been thinking not so long ago that she’d been someone I could relate to. That was why I hadn’t dared bring up the subject of adoption with her. Because she felt so distant that something as laughable as a parent-child relationship felt untouchable.

On some level, I understood that Hikaru was still human. I knew that. I knew that the rapport we’d developed wasn’t false. It wasn’t meaningless. But yet...

“Are you okay?” Mari asked. 

“Huh?” I blinked, startled. “Yes, I’m fine. Why?”

“You’re shaking.” 

“Am I...?” 

I was. 

She paused for a moment, then continued walking. “What...are you really okay?” 

I thought for a moment. “Mari, if you woke up one day to find that something really important to you had been a lie all along, hadn’t been real...what would you do? How would you react?”

She didn’t answer for a long moment.

“I...I guess it would depend on what it was,” she said cautiously.

“What if...” I hesitated. “What if you could perform miracles? If you could do something that defied comprehension. That wasn’t something like breaking a physical law, but breaking a natural law.”

“Like reversing death?”

“Exactly.” 

Mari walked in silence for a few minutes.

“Yuki, you can’t...right?”

“Hell no,” I said firmly. “Don’t worry about why I’m asking. Just answer the question.” 

She sighed in what sounded like relief. “Okay. I...I don’t know. I mean, I guess I’d try to figure out how to use that gift without becoming the number one target in the world, but I don’t think that’s really what you’re asking for, right?”

“Yeah...sorry, maybe that wasn’t such a good example after all. What if your friend could do that, then? How would you treat them?” 

She shrugged, lifting my arms in the process. “I dunno. That’d be kind of crazy, I guess, but...well, I guess I’d just try to see what I could do to help them. That kind of thing sounds as much of a curse as anything.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah.” She laughed shortly. “Too much power isn’t always a good thing.” 

_ That was why I wanted to know just why Hikaru had gone so far for that power in the first place. And she had given me an answer I thought I could be satisfied by, but... _

_ Void above, this world was just too large. There was so much to worry about and to think about. How did people have the time for that? _

“It sounds like...you’ve seen something?” Mari probed. “Something that you...right, you said ‘miracle’, right? Something miraculous.” 

“In a manner of speaking,” I said. 

“It scared you, didn’t it?”

I stiffened. “You are far too perceptive for your own good.”

She laughed. “We’ve known each other for a few months now, haven’t we? I’ve noticed you overthink basically everything, Yuki. And that’s not always so bad. It makes you a good leader. But you can’t be afraid to just step out and do things. Doing something is usually better than doing nothing at all. And you’re pretty smart, so I’m sure you’ll do the right thing most of the time.”

I chewed on her words for a bit.

“So you think I should just go with my gut instinct?” 

“Uh-huh.” 

_ I didn’t really need a parent, but maybe...  _

I closed my eyes. “Doesn’t it scare you to just...do that?”

“Eh. Mess up enough and it’s not really a big deal anymore,” she said brightly.

“Not really making me feel better about this.” 

Mari shrugged again. “You’re not doing it alone, no matter what it is. You’ve got a whole team with you now, so whatever it is, if it doesn’t work out, we’ll still have your back.”

I hummed. “That...that is true. Thanks, Mari. You’re surprisingly reliable for this kind of thing.”

She laughed. “I...had a good teacher.”

“Ah.”

“She taught me a lot and was there for me when I needed her most. I think it’s only right that I do the same for the people I care about.” 

She stopped suddenly, and I realized belatedly that we were outside of my house.

“It’s okay to make mistakes, Yuki. But you can’t be so afraid of making one that you choose to do nothing at all. Have a little faith in yourself, and—”

The door opened, revealing a tired but alert Setsuna.

“—in us. Right, Setsuna?”

“Huh?” the sealer asked, confused.

“Right. Well, we’re here now, so I’ll leave you in her capable hands.” She crouched down, letting me get off of her. I stumbled as I did, almost falling over entirely, but Setsuna moved forward in time to catch and support me with ease.

“Thanks,” I murmured. 

“I’ll be seeing you both around,” Mari said brightly. “Take care!” 

We watched the Stormweaver depart in a surprisingly cheerful mood, all things considered. 

“You...did do it, right?” Setsuna asked cautiously.

“Yes.”

“So, why...?”

“I have no idea,” I said heavily. “She’s strange.”

“I heard that!” Mari called out, closing the door behind her as she slipped into her own home.

Setsuna glanced at me curiously. 

“No idea.” 

...

_ I just needed to take a leap of faith...? _

“Yuki, are you sure you’re okay?” Setsuna asked, glancing at me from her side of the bed. “You look troubled again.”

I nodded. “I’ve been thinking about something for a while, but I’ve finally come to a conclusion.” 

She studied me for a few moments. “About the adoption, right?”

I started, surprised. “Yeah. How’d you...?”

She smiled sadly, reaching over to pat my head. “Eventually you’ll figure out that I know you. You’re going to ask after all, aren’t you?”

I stared at her, wide-eyed. She let her hand fall from my head, shifting closer in order to grab my hand. “I’ll support you no matter what. Whether or not I agree with it. Don’t...don’t ever think otherwise, okay?”

I nodded, smiling a sad smile of my own. “Thank you, Setsuna. I’ve been weak and indecisive for a while now, haven’t I?”

Her hand squeezed mine. “A little...but that’s okay. I’ll still be at your side.”

“Thank you,” I whispered sincerely. “Now, help me get up? I need to write a letter.” 

_ If Setsuna could do the impossible — become a Lunari without any ability to manipulate mana — then, surely, I could settle for doing the merely difficult.  _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to close out Act 1, and then we'll be at Act 2. Oh, and I have I mentioned Team Dragon to everyone yet? It's a side story that I've been working on for Spellborne that I highly recommend to everyone! It's a lighter story than Spellborne is, and I think if you've made it this far, you'll love Team Dragon.


	21. (1.X) Act Closing, Crystallize

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You could consider this a bonus chapter of sorts. There'll be one at the end of every Act (as a contrast to Old Spellborne, which had one at the end of every arc). They'll all be in this format, and will serve to resolve certain plot points as well as begin others.

#  **(1.X) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Crystallize, Closing**

[ The following is a compilation of letters exchanged during and after the events of Faith, organized and/or reconstructed by **CLASSIFIED**. Encrypted or otherwise illegible text has been noted appropriately. ] 

* * *

* * *

Dear Miss Kozakura, 

You are hurting him, even if he isn’t aware of it.

Stop. Now.

Sincerely,  
Setsuna Tsuri.

* * *

Setsuna Tsuri,

About time.

* * *

Yuki, 

I will not be able to continue our current schedule of training. Instead of every morning, afternoon, and evening, let us cut things down to a few times every week. We can organize the exact times tomorrow morning. 

Also, congratulations on your team. I’ve scheduled the Blood Vow for the day immediately after you graduate. Let her know. 

Hikaru. 

* * *

* * *

H,

I need your professional and personal opinion on them.

K.

* * *

Takeshi,

First of all, what’s with the short letter? Can’t you at least visit properly? It’s been at least a month since I’ve seen your face, and no, that time at the wall doesn’t count! 

Anyways, here:

Yuki: Strong tactical understanding, very focused. Surprisingly intuitive and adaptable to many situations. Combat power is somewhat low relative to the rest of his team, but I expect that to change very quickly as he’s forced to grow. Make him struggle, and he’ll rise to meet the challenge. Don’t let him rely on his teammates, _either_ of them — I am still gauging how trustworthy they are. _Don’t_ let him die, you hear me? Keep an eye on him, and make him strong enough to protect himself. 

Setsuna: She’s hiding something. I don’t know what yet, but there’s something there. No one can be that good at seals naturally, and some of the things I’ve seen from her...look into her origin. Suspicions aside, an incredibly talented sealer, well beyond my own abilities by a wide margin. In a few years she’ll easily be better than you. If you focus on her ability to use them and survive on the field, she can handle the rest of it herself. I think she might be a hidden **[ENCRYPTED].** Probably not a problem, but you should know.

Mari: Dangerous, very dangerous...though you should know by now, since you had to come to me to shake off the lingering paralysis she left you with. That being said, I have it on very good authority that control won’t be an issue from her anymore soon — at least, the disobedient kind. Keep an eye on her, but her situation can be assumed to be resolved shortly after your little birds graduate. 

Together, they should be quite the powerful team, and a troublesome one. Don’t let them get in over their heads, though. 

Don’t you get in over your head, either. 

Let me know if you need anything at all. 

Hikaru.

P.S — Did you do power ratings on them?  
P.P.S — On consideration, I should be more blunt.  
Come over. Soon. 

* * *

H,

Y: 7  
S: 0.1  
M: 82 (!!!) 

K.

* * *

* * *

Dear Central Lunarian Merchant Services, 

I’m writing to inquire about the stock of your Arcacian-replica snowglobes. I am strongly interested in purchasing one for a friend, but I do not believe they are available anywhere in Alune. May I ask you to direct me to any potential sellers? 

Sincerely,  
Yuki of Alune.

* * *

* * *

Hey Yuki,

You weren’t in, so I just decided to write a quick letter. Do you happen to know a reliable babysitter? I figure it’s a bit of a long shot, but why not ask, right? 

Thanks,  
Mari

* * *

Mari,

Kaede Suzuki. She was a former classmate of mine, though she dropped out at my recommendation, amongst other factors. She’s a very nice girl — too nice for the field — and I can certainly give her a character recommendation. Let me put her in touch with you.

Yuki.

* * *

* * *

Dear Yuki,

Hey, uh, I don’t normally write letters, but I need help and you haven’t been home much. There’s this weird red-headed kid following me around once in a while, and he’s doing some weird shit. And I mean weird shit. Any advice?

Sincerely,  
Sayaka.

* * *

Sayaka,

First of all, congratulations. I didn’t know you knew how to write one of these, so you’ve managed to exceed my expectations. As expected of my rival. We all have to have our talents, right?

As for your admirer, I’m going to need an idea of just how weird we’re talking about here. I know some very strange people, you included, so I’m afraid I can’t give reasonable advice without more information. 

Yuki.

* * *

Loser,

First of all, fuck you.

Much more importantly, you want an example? Just the other day, he came up to me after class to, and I quote, ‘show me something cool’. Then when I decided to humor him, he shot a fireball in the shape of an ‘S’. Weird, right? It’s almost like he’s trying to impress me or something. I asked around after I ditched him, and apparently he’s basically normal except in my presence. 

Oh, and that’s not the first time. He flirts with me constantly, and I mean constantly. And you should hear the way he talks! Once I got sick of him enough to slap him, and he just laughed and asked me to do it again! 

What am I supposed to do about this guy? He’s not technically breaking any rules, but he doesn’t listen when I tell him to go away. I think he thinks I’m flirting with him, actually. Out of ideas.

Send help,  
Sayaka.

* * *

Sayaka,

He pretty obviously has romantic or at least sexual affections towards you. Either give him what he wants or kill him. 

Alternatively — and this is advice I got from someone a bit more qualified to handle people problems — I suppose you could just try to pop his ego. He seems to be showing off to you, so if you just do something that shows him you’re totally out of his league, he’ll probably give up. Or so it goes in theory. Not convinced myself, but...

Yuki.

* * *

Loser,

So I did as you said and I challenged him to a duel and promptly kicked his ass.

Didn’t work. Now he thinks I’m even cooler and has started pursuing me even more aggressively. Who the fuck gave you that advice? I think doing nothing would have been better!

Kind of pissed,  
Sayaka.

* * *

Sayaka,

Mari Aono. 

Please do feel free to take it up with her if you have an issue with it.

Yuki.

* * *

Loser,

I fucking hate you.

Still pissed,  
Sayaka

* * *

* * *

Hikaru,

Legal protection. Family. 

Some potential consequences, but if done quietly, may be worth it. If you’re willing to, then so am I. Never cared for my last name anyways. 

Yuki.

* * *

Yuki,

I’ll begin the paperwork now.

Hikaru.

* * *

* * *

**[ENCRYPTED]**

Keep an eye on both of them. 

You. Owe. Me. 

**[ENCRYPTED]**

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here are my plans for the near future:  
> Team Dragon's third chapter should arrive in two days (if you haven't read it yet, strongly recommend it, especially if you want to see more of what their school life could have been like!). Team Dragon also goes into certain other aspects of the world more...
> 
> A major revamp to the first chapter should be out before the end of the month. It will adjust Yuki and Sayaka's relationship slightly (and will probably necessitate minor changes to the following chapters) but overall it'll mostly just be a readability update. 
> 
> The next chapter of Spellborne, and the first of Act 2, should arrive early in March! I'm aiming for the first day. See you then!


	22. (2.1.1) Sapphire Blaze, Part 1

#  **(2.1.1) Spellborne, Book 1**

#  **Sapphire Blaze, Part 1**

From the moment that I opened my eyes, I knew that I was dreaming. I gathered my will, preparing to forcefully dispel it, but paused as I took in my surroundings. 

I was falling. 

As I became aware of this, other sensations made themselves known to me — the roaring of the icy wind past my ears, the force of the rushing air on my spread-eagled limbs, and, beneath all of that, a sense of deep-rooted desperation. 

For a moment, I stared blankly at the state of Alune, spread out far below me. With a bit of mana reinforcement, I could pick out individual districts — but that was all. Such was the height I had been dropped at, to where I could not make out any details even with superhuman abilities. 

Right. This may have been a dream, but it was also a memory. At the moment I was remembering, though, I didn’t have Wind under my control quite yet. This little ‘exercise’ had been designed to force me to awaken Wind or splatter in the streets, and my teacher at the time hadn’t cared which it had been.

I sighed, the sound of my exasperation lost in the rushing wind. Perhaps at the time I hadn’t known how to utilize Wind, but that time was not now. And even if I hadn’t been a Windweaver, it wouldn’t have mattered. With a burst of willpower, I brought my descent to a stop. The sensation of falling abruptly faded, and silence returned for a blissful second before being disrupted again. 

“Is this the best you can do?” a mocking voice called out to me. It was the voice of an older man, one I’d come to know briefly. “After all this time, you are still so weak.” 

Back then, those words had haunted me, however briefly. Eventually I’d shook them off under the nihilistic belief that my death was both necessary and beneficial, so something like ‘strength’ hadn’t mattered much even as I’d allowed Sayaka’s rivalry to drive me forward. With Setsuna and Hikaru pushing those thoughts away, though, how strong I was had become a concern once more, one I’d grappled with for a while. 

But now?

“I might still be weak,” I agreed, speaking to the empty air, “but now I have time. I’m not on a clock anymore. Mari and Hikaru can protect me until I’m ready.”

“Perhaps I’ve wasted my time on you. I thought you had so much potential, but you’re just like all the others, aren’t you?”

I’d managed to awaken Wind back then, saving myself from death. But the man had never shown up after that, and no matter how hard I’d looked — not that I had tried very hard — I could never find him again. I supposed that he’d given up on me after all. 

“Yet I’m still here,” I said softly. “You might have thrown me away, but I’m still here...” My lips thinned. “And I’m far stronger now than the wretch you left me as.”

“Then fly. Fly or die. Prove your worth to me, you miserable child,” the voice said, but it was already fading as I gathered my will, tuning out the words. 

I shook my head slowly once I was sure I had control. “I’m glad I never called you Master. For all of her faults, Hikaru is a hundred times the person you’ll ever be.” 

Two days. It had taken her two days to ram through the process to adopt me. There were many mitigating factors, such as my particular circumstances and the fact I was now of legal age, but I suspected that she’d simply asked. 

Save one person’s life, and all of their friends and family would appreciate it. 

Hikaru Kozakura had saved thousands of people in her tenure as the Goddess of Mercy. As such, many, many people owed her a favor or two. 

And she’d leveraged that — despite hating it — for me, at my request, because it would help me, even if it had the potential to inconvenience her rather severely. 

‘I’m proud of you’, she’d told me the day after she’d captured my soul in her grasp. 

“You never once treated me as anything less than a tool,” I whispered. “So I couldn’t care less about what you think of me. Fade back into the past where you belong.” 

Then, with a simple burst of will, I tore the dreamscape to pieces.

My eyes — my real eyes, this time — shot open.

“Good morning,” Setsuna said.

“Good morning,” I returned her greeting, turning to face her. She was sitting on the edge of the bed farthest from me, looking at something in her lap. “You’re not still staring at that thing, are you? It’s been a few days already.” 

She flushed slightly. “I...so what if I am?” 

I’d managed to get my hands on a snowglobe similar to the one my parents had...passed on to me. It had seemed like an appropriate gift for Setsuna, especially when I’d recalled her fascination with it the first time she’d seen it.

She had been...very pleased. Still was, as a matter of fact. I hadn’t expected her to be that taken with it, but I was happy to see her so happy, even if I didn’t really understand. 

“Nothing, nothing,” I said, suppressing a small grin. “Anyways, you’ll be using this day for preparations, right? What with the interteam exercise tomorrow and all?”

We’d been told a few days ago about it — apparently, we’d be playing some kind of capture-the-flag scenario against another team. All Alunian Lunari were familiar with the war games — they were standard Academy exercises. 

Setsuna smiled happily. “Yes. I won’t be letting Mari do all the work. What about you?” 

“Well, speaking of Mari, I was thinking I’d either check in with her or Hika—”

Heavy knocking sounded out from our front door. 

“Hey! Yuki! I know you’re awake!” Sayaka’s voice shouted. “Come out!” 

“—but I guess I’ll be spending time with her instead,” I finished dryly, slipping out from underneath the covers.

Setsuna didn’t even try to hide her smile. “She’s quite needy, isn’t she? If you’d like, I could put up the wards. They’ll block out the noise, too.” 

I snorted. “As funny as that would be, it would become unbearable to deal with her later. I think I’ll be fine.”

She raised an eyebrow, gesturing at me — and, specifically, my state of undress. “Do you plan on greeting her like that?”

“That would be funny, wouldn’t it?” I said thoughtfully. Setsuna blinked, alarmed. “No, I’m just going to tell her to wait for me to get ready.” 

...

Sayaka hadn’t appreciated my demand for her to come back in ten minutes, and so had impatiently sat on my doorstep until I came out, now ready to go.

“I hope you have a really good reason for waking me up this early,” I said, closing the door behind me. “I skipped breakfast for this.” 

Sayaka scowled up at me, dressed in a simple sleeveless white dress. It was a style very reminiscent of Hikaru’s own. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll pay for a meal for you sometime. Now hurry and follow me!” 

I raised an eyebrow as she took a few steps back, then leapt onto my rooftop. Usually it took a lot more work to pull that out of her. She must be actually upset, then. 

“Just what happened?” I asked, following her with ease. She immediately began racing along the rooftops, headed in the direction of her house. 

“Remember that boy I sent you a letter about?” 

“The one trying to impress you?” I asked, pretending not to know exactly who she was talking about. 

_Sorry, Sayaka,_ I thought without the faintest trace of guilt. _That might be my fault._

“Yeah! And by the way, that was the worst advice I’ve ever received!”

“Hey, I did give you other options,” I pointed out. 

Sayaka narrowed her eyes. “Most of them were completely ridiculous!” 

I smirked. “Your fault for asking me of all people. I just told you what I thought might actually work. Anyways, I assume you’re bringing him up for a reason?”

“Yeah. He’s waiting outside of my house.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. So you’re coming with me to handle him.”

I thought about that for a moment. “I’m not going to pretend to be your boyfriend.” 

She skidded to a stop, turning to face me. “Oh, come on! Just for a day!”

“Nope,” I said bluntly. “Not interested.”

“Come on,” she pleaded, then sidled up closer to me, a small grin on her face. “If you really want me to sell it, I’ll give you a kiss.” 

I blinked. “Why would I want a kiss from you?”

She pouted. “So cold. Oh, unless...you and Setsuna are dating already?” Her lips curled up into a smirk. “Maybe you want a kiss from Setsuna, instead?”

I thought about Setsuna shyly pressing a kiss to my cheek after I’d presented her with the snowglobe and suppressed a blush. “If you’re so willing to give out kisses, then maybe you should’ve just taken my first suggestion after all.” 

Sayaka rolled her eyes. “Not a chance in hell. Well, if you won’t be actually useful, then will you at least have my back if I snap and punch his lights out?”

I raised an eyebrow as she turned away, following her as she continued her race across the rooftops. “What’s wrong, miss top student? Can’t handle one boy by yourself?” 

“Oh, I can handle him just fine,” she said darkly. “But we’re on the same team now, so I can’t do as much as I’d like.”

I winced, feeling a small bit of actual guilt. 

“But if you knock his lights out, then it’s just, uh, interteam rivalry. So it’s okay!” she finished, and my sympathy for the blue-haired psychopath immediately vanished.

“Alright,” I said dryly, “I’ll see what I can do.” In a roundabout, indirect way, that guy’s antics were sort of my fault, and I didn’t have any objections to spending some time with my self-proclaimed rival. 

“Thanks,” she said, sounding genuinely grateful.

Shortly thereafter, we arrived at her house, another simple Lunari cookie-cutter house with the same style as my own. Standing outside with a bouquet of red roses was the red-haired boy who’d approached me in the bathroom once for advice on how to woo Sayaka. 

“Yo,” he greeted me, waving negligently before he turned to the girl next to me. “Ah, Sayaka, welcome back.” 

The blunette shrugged, staying silent. 

“What’s wrong? Everything okay? Hey—” he turned to glance at me, “you guys are still just friends, right?” 

“Yes,” I said quickly before Sayaka could think of saying otherwise, “and it seems that you guys are just that, too. At best.” I emphasized the last word. 

He nodded sagely. “For now.”

“Forever,” Sayaka refuted flatly, eyebrow twitching. 

“For now,” he said cheerfully, unruffled by her cold words. “But one day that will change. Your heart will be swayed by my—” 

Sayaka snapped her hand out, a shimmering wave of Wind leaving her fingertips. In an instant, the bouquet was shredded, sending scattered roses into the air. But as they came back down, a breeze kicked in around him, surrounding the boy with a swirl of rose petals as he swept his hair back with his fingers. His other hand reached out, catching a rose that had managed to stay in one piece. 

“Thank you, my lady,” he said, bowing deeply. “As always, our performance together is something to behold.”

I couldn’t help myself. I clapped. 

In return, Sayaka sent me a glare that could have melted steel.

“What?” I asked innocently. “You have to admit that was pretty cool.” 

“Ah, a fan of the fine arts, I see,” the red-haired boy said, bowing briefly once more. “Should you have nothing to do, you might want to consider coming to our team exercise tomorrow. I’ll be certain to make it a spectacle!” 

_Setsuna would have a field day with this fool,_ I thought numbly to myself.

“I’m sure Yuki is too busy for that,” Sayaka said, voice still flat. “Isn’t he?”

As much as I’d like to tease her, she had a point. “Yeah. Actually, we’re supposed to be having—”

_Wait, what if—?!_

“—a meeting with our handler tomorrow. Something about needing to do some research at the library,” I lied smoothly. “Sounds like you guys are up to something much more interesting.” 

“Indeed,” the boy agreed. “It’s supposed to be some kind of capture-the-flag exercise against another team, but we haven’t been told much more than that.” 

“Sounds fun,” I agreed, carefully not reacting. “And you’ve got Sayaka, too. I’m sure you’ll do fine.” 

The girl in question narrowed her eyes at me, but didn’t say anything. 

“Naturally! With her Wind to spread my Fire, I doubt anyone could beat us!” he boasted.

I’d figured from his personality that he was most likely a Fireweaver, but it was nice to have the confirmation. As for their supposed synergy, I was far more skeptical — their antagonism for each other ruled that out — but I was willing to admit that Sayaka’s abilities alone would make them dangerous opponents. 

But then there was Mari to consider. Mari, by herself, could probably take down every single rookie Lunari team. She was just far too powerful.

 _But if they banned her from Stormweaving,_ I realized, _then it would be very, very different. Then our opposing team would have a much better chance. And against a team with a ringer like Sayaka?_

“Impressive,” I said as sincerely as possible. “Do you get along this well with your third teammate, too?”

The boy sighed dramatically. “Alas, we do not. Fire and Water do not mix well, it would seem.”

“Yes,” Sayaka agreed, a strange tone in her voice. “But enough about them. How about your team? You’ve been getting along with everyone quite well, haven’t you?”

_Did she catch on to me?_

“Well enough,” I said carelessly. “But you already know about my team, don’t you? This is the first time you’ve even mentioned yours. It must be,” I suppressed a smile, “a pleasant surprise to work with someone you’re already well acquainted with.”

Her eyebrow began to twitch. 

“Oh, and speaking of acquaintances, I don’t believe I’ve gotten your name,” I said, facing the red-haired boy.

_With his full name, I could search his public records. Might give me some useful information. And a bit of searching might give me something useful on his other teammate — only so many Waterweavers that graduated this year, after all._

“Why, of course!” he agreed. “I am referred to as Arun Kea. I know of your name, of course, from everything Sayaka tells me about you.” 

I glanced at the girl in question. She stared right back, narrowed eyes indicating her displeasure. “Only good things, I hope.”

“Sayaka is many things,” Arun said tactfully, “but a wordsmith she is not.” 

“As nice as it is to stand around outside my house and listen to you two slander me,” the blunette in question said with a blatantly fake smile on her face, “I think that there are other things to do this morning. Inside my house. By myself. So you guys can leave. Anytime. No rush.” 

_That might be so,_ I thought, _but I’m not done with collecting information. So..._

“I’ll see you later, then,” I told her before turning to Arun. “And if you, my friend, need any more advice, please feel free to ask.”

He clapped his hands. “Of course! After all, because of your tip, Sayaka and I are already—” 

I jumped back as Sayaka’s mana-reinforced kick cut through the space I had previously occupied. 

“It was you?!” she snarled. “You’re the reason I have to put up with him?!” 

“Indirectly,” I admitted, pulling my own mana to the surface of my skin just in case. “He asked for help, I told him to impress you, and, well, the rest is history.”

She screamed wordlessly, mana visibly gathering around her fist. “I’m going to kill you,” she promised. “Training field six. Right now.”

“Mm, I think I’ll pass,” I replied cheerfully. “You do have an important training exercise tomorrow, and I wouldn’t want to hurt you too badly before—” 

“Tomorrow,” Sayaka said darkly. “Tomorrow. You and I fight. Tomorrow.”

_Aha. Guess she figured it out, too._

“Huh?” Arun asked. “Why tomorrow?”

“Team exercise,” we both replied, my cheerful tone contrasting her angry one. 

“Wait, that’s against—?”

“Most likely,” I agreed. “Well, goodbye, Sayaka. I think you and I will have a lot of fun tomorrow, won’t we—?” I leapt back, dodging a blast of Wind. “Yeah, we’ll have fun.” 

...

Later that day, after I’d found and briefed my team on the strategy for fighting a team like theirs, I’d gone to the public records archive, hunting for information on the grandiose red-haired boy. And what I’d found...

“Well played,” I muttered to myself, walking away from the office. “Well played.” 

There wasn’t anyone in our graduating class named Arun. 

That bastard had given me a false name.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're finally out of the Academy! Woohoo!


End file.
